As a little ol’ lady who is a voracious reader and news watcher and who really cares what happens in the world that I’m leaving to my soon-to-be-born great-grandchild, I was going to tell you exactly what I thought! But I changed my mind.
I’m sorry it took so long to get back to you all. I actually was so mad at all the stupidity going on in the world that I wrote a scathing blog heaping all my fury upon those narrow-minded perpetrators who seem blinded by their rigid beliefs. You all know who they are. You might even recognize yourself as one of them if you happen to be on the verge of gradually waking up to compassionate reality despite the views of those surrounding you.
But an angry ranter is not who I am. I admire people who are doing all that they can to roll back climate change: the environmentalists, the scientists, the workers in the field, the policymakers, the inventors, the recyclers, and all the others working so hard to reverse the damage to the only known planet in the universe containing life. If that’s true, that we are the only intelligent life in the whole of God’s creation, there is a lot riding on the decisions we make going forward.
We have to make Planet Earth healthy again.
We must stop war, period! The International Criminal Court is an independent judicial institution investigating and prosecuting war crimes. As many other nations have done, the United States and other major powers must agree to its jurisdiction.
Violence has always been a part of existence. In humans, this takes the form of “us” vs “them.” An old Bedouin proverb is often paraphrased to describe this phenomenon: “Me against my brother. My brother and I against my cousins. My cousins and I against our neighbors. Our neighbors and I against the town. The town and I against the nation. The nation and I against the world!”
The question is: How can this kind of thinking, which forms the rationale for greed, exploitation, killing, war, and so much more of the us/them mentality, be rectified? If we want to survive, we must find a way.In my former rant, I tore into Putin, the psychopath (?), for his merciless killing of Ukrainians.
The Israelis were next for their slaughter and planned ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
We must remember that the concept of “us” vs. “them” is actually false. Within every ethnic (or tribal) group, there are differences of opinion, different personalities, and many kind and compassionate people who think for themselves. It is incorrect to label a whole group of people as “them.”
Also, the amount of intelligent “brainpower” that is just tossed away without regard for how much the world needs all the help it can get is staggering. Rather than eliminating “them,” let’s educate them and their children in the disciplines most needed to save our planet.
Tiffany A.C. Wollin says in her letter from Doctors Without Borders,
“…here we find ourselves again. Emergency after emergency, it’s the reality we’re all living in today. How, then, do we stay centered on hope and act on our compassion?
“That’s what it means to live an ethical will—to walk through this life living the legacy we wish to leave behind. It’s how we stay focused and breathe through chaos and discomfort. It’s how we remain impartial even when our values are tested.”
I’m kind of wearing out, and supper’s on the stove, so I’ll stop for now. Let’s just think about how we can move forward together in a positive way that benefits us all. If you have any ideas, please leave a comment. I want to hear from you.
I have A LOT of ideas, my friend. And at some point I will share them. Right now I'm in the midst of them. Thank you for this well written Substack. I do not agree with you about everything but I can certainly relate to your fervor! Keep up the good work. You are my hero. ❤