CRITICAL CONCERNS FROM EAST TO WEST
power tussle over natural resources in the African continent, and the attempts to create instability in Bolivia and Venezuela, are all consequences of that hegemonic drive. The media reports on events associated with these crisis zones but it does not join the dots and make its audiences aware of the quest for global hegemonic power and why it is happening. For those who subscribe to spiritual and moral values and principles, the elite drive for hegemony is simply anathema. For no individual or group has the right to control, dominate and subjugate other human beings since the human being’s ultimate loyalty--- his engaged surrender--- is to God, and God alone. How does one enhance the media’s awareness of, and commitment to, its dual mission of comprehending conflicts with a religious dimension in depth, on the one hand, and understanding the significance of spiritualmoral values and principles in addressing some fundamental global challenges in the contemporary world, on the other? Including the philosophies and histories of the various religions, their values and principles, and their rituals and practices in the curricula of media studies in universities and other institutions of higher learning would be a step in the right direction. For serving media practitioners, there should be courses and workshops which emphasize the same themes and subjects of study. It is important that both categories are also exposed to the interface between religion and society, and some of the theories and concepts associated with this interface. Neither the conflicts of our time nor the challenges of our age--- and the role of religion in them--- can be understood in any depth without the benefit of ideas drawn from sociology, political science, economics, psychology and other social science disciplines.
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