Mission Statement:
We are neither left wing nor right wing, and have as our goal to
change the world, one person at a time, not through religious fanaticism
or political radicalism but rather through the most powerful message
of all: hope. We will encourage mutual respect amongst the nations of
our world, understanding between our strikingly different cultures and
faiths, and we will serve as a forum for the youth of our world to communicate
in, and to build in it the bridges of the future. - Jorge
Vargas, Editor-in-chief (jorgevargas@crossingsmagazine.org)
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Message from the Editor-in-Chief:
Dear Readers,
A decade ago, with the fall of the Soviet Union, infamous claims arose
that the end of history had arrived. The genocides in Africa, the civil
wars and prevalence of dictatorships in Europe and Latin America, the
increased terrorist actions of Muslim radicals against Israel, China’s
somewhat unpredictable economic rise, and the terrorist attacks on U.S.
soil on that grisly September of 2001 have all helped in proving the
allegations of the end of history to be wrong. Life in our world, as
brutal and hopeless as it may at times appear is the same today as it
was during the Cold War, and in the centuries that came before it.
We are faced with the question, as we have always been, of what we must
do in order for future generations to not have to live through a world
of horrors, especially now that it has been proven that every nation
in the world is equally vulnerable to human evil. Yet we still fail
to accept this fact, hoping, perhaps naively, that by ignoring the truth,
we’ll be unscathed by it.
Our world hasn’t improved from the way that it was prior to the outbreak
of World War II. Thanks to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and
to the over-abundance of them in the US and other nations, our planet
is currently more dangerous than it ever was, yet the average person
fails to realize that there is a world outside of one’s borders.
We live in a world that finds Judaism pitted in a conflict against Muslims,
who are also pitted in a conflict against Christians. There’s nothing
to be gained from denying the similarities between our present state
and the Crusades, yet we deny them. Extremists from each of these three
religions fail to recognize that we all worship the same god: To the
Jews, He is named Yahweh; to Christians, He is called God the Father;
to Muslims, He is known as Allah.
The purpose of this magazine is not to decide which religion has it
right. The point of religion isn’t to be correct, it’s to believe. Nor
will we be here to prove that God exists, for belief is defined by that
uncertainty, which only the heart can soothe, and in which the mind
has no role.
The modern-day world requires, as it always has, that we believe that
there is something better out there. To religious individuals, that
something is a form of heaven, a supreme being, or multiple supreme
beings. It isn’t the job of this magazine to define that better form
of existence, for this great truth is incapable of being defined by
words.
The staff of this magazine believes that God is in every person and
behind every occurrence, even though it is sometimes unclear as to why
and in what way. Such questions are for mystics and philosophers to
ponder. Simultaneously, however, our staff is well aware of the fact
that religion is weakening in this age of computers and the perennial
threat of nuclear annihilation. Throughout the developed world, organized
religions have been unable to cope with change and are, thus, losing
practitioners. The U.S. is facing a shortage of priests, leading the
Roman Catholic churches to bring over priests from India, Africa, and
South America. The younger generations of Italy are not as concerned
with matters of faith and God as their forefathers have been.
This magazine is composed of writers between the ages of 17 and 20.
A dozen different ethnic backgrounds, three major monotheistic religions,
and nations including the United States of America, the United Mexican
States, and the Republic of Peru are represented by the staff. Most
of our writers are college students in New York City, which is a fitting
center for this magazine, since she is also considered by most as the
capital of the world.
Our goal is to change the world, one person at a time, not through religious
fanaticism or political radicalism, but through the most powerful message
of all: hope. We will allow all to know one another, through featured
nations, and we will let the different religions of the world better
know and understand each other. And we’ll never forget that, at the
source of it all, lies the great opportunity that was given to us, by
God – regardless of what name is given to Him, and in what language
–, to live in a democratic republic that allows freedom of press and
of thought.
Let it not be said that we are left wing or right wing, for we are neither.
Our political messages will not follow any other agenda but that of
mutual respect amongst the nations of our world, understanding between
our strikingly different cultures, and, above all, the harmonious cooperation,
that we, as humans, all share in to meet our common goals.
Sincerely,
Jorge Vargas
Editor in Chief
