Patience in politics (part 1)
Dag Hammarskjöld’s patience was noticeable. For example, at the time of his re-election to a second term as secretary-general (September, 1957), the Danish foreign minister reminded the UN General Assembly of Hammarskjöld’s "patience in dealing with the most complicated Gordian knot." The secretary-general had thought in depth about the need for patience and the place of perseverance alongside it. These are common values. Who doesn’t "believe in" them? In practice, they cost something and may come easier if we think them through again alongside Hammarskjöld.
Hammarskjöld wrote:
If the elephant walks and walks in the right direction, we should not be impatient. It does not move too quickly, but we shall certainly arrive at a goal.
(The Adventure of Peace, 198)
Impatience is a useful goad, but a very poor guide. There are times when it is political wisdom, in the best sense, to mark time. (Public Papers 2, 205)
Nothing is of greater importance for a peaceful and constructive development…toward freedom and an equal place in the world than to respect the laws of natural growth, guiding and helping the necessary change without impatience for overnight results. (Public Papers 2, 258)
Perseverance and patience, joined with the calm trust in the possibility to overcome all difficulties which is proper to men who know that fate is what they make it, are the qualities most needed at the present difficult juncture in history. (Public Papers 2, 279)
The fact that there may be a long road to travel in order to arrive at settlement does not in any way, and should not in any way, be permitted to discourage us in our immediate effort: nor should it be used by any party as an excuse not to cooperate with us. (Public Papers 3, 132)
To throw the cards on the table for such a reason as that we haven’t reached anything like perfection seems to me…a very unwise, impatient policy. (Public Papers 3, 180)
Some years ago a student asked a remarkable teacher about Time. "Time is interesting," Lord Pentland replied, "but timing is more interesting." This was something like Hammarskjöld’s view: he was interested in timing.
It seems to be mostly a matter of experience. There may be no good theory of timing—of patience as a guide and impatience as a goad. It must be on-the-job learning through seeing what works and what doesn’t. Hammarskjöld did have a strong sense for what he calls here "the laws of natural growth", rooted in his regard for the French philosopher Henri Bergson’s concept of creative evolution. His impulse was to guide and help to whatever degree may be needed while relying on those laws to move events toward greater integration and maturity.
Clearly he thought that patience isn’t enough: perseverance and "calm trust" are also needed. Perseverance must mean continuing to plug away at debates and events—not to back off entirely or forget, however patient one must be. The words "calm trust" recall the importance he gave to faith in the direction-finding instinct of humanity. This was magic on his part. He brought his basic faith in human beings to debates and events, and often enough general contagion ensued: if Hammarskjöld thinks we can find the way on, then we surely can, it’s just a matter of time.
But it wasn’t invariably so. The UN, and its secretary-general, were denied substantial access to some grave issues—for example, the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956 and the violent crisis between China and Tibet in 1959—and consequently had no opportunity to mediate.
For Hammarskjöld, political process is a fact-rich event—one needs masses of reasonably correct information and a strong sense of context and structure to participate well. But it is also a psychological event in which who one is, and who others are, counts for a very great deal. Hammarskjöld’s patience and respect for slow but sure process had deep roots. As did his tolerance for ambiguity, for the unsettled, the evolving. These were elements of his identity, not superficial acquisitions.
Some notion emerges uneasily from all of this, as if we are to recognize a further point. Is it that we make ourselves by participating in a certain way in political processes and the life of the community? We don’t stay the same. We learn in depth. The ‘laws of natural growth’ apply to us no less than to large events. Start with an idea or two—for example, patience, perseverance, calm trust. Start with a vision or two—the elephant walking slowly on. Then see what happens.
