Sometimes, and unfortunately more and more these days, it is hard to retain a positive view of the direction of the world.
Whilst there are countless examples of acts of selfless support, of humanitarian gestures and operations, to help and aid and relieve the suffering of so many in so many places, it does feel like trying to hear whispers at an Iron Maiden concert.
Whether it is world powers using other countries to stage their ongoing animosity, or internal factions too narrowly focussed on their ancient, or not so ancient, regional and religious disputes; in the middle are the innocents.
And the innocents will always bear the scars, and suffer the pain, and be expendable.
Collateral damage. Friendly fire. Pick your favourite innocuous phrase and see it used to plaster over a callous indifference for the damage done for the ‘greater’ battle of right versus wrong. Or right versus might. Or arrogant, unyielding stupidity.
Every day, leaders of every hue, at every level, ignore the endless lessons of history on the assumption that this time the result with be other than destruction, dispossession, despair.
And the sowing of seeds for future animosity and hatred. And disaster after disaster.
Yemen. Syria. Iraq. Afghanistan. Nigeria. Somalia. Cameroon. Niger. Chad. And on, and on.
Even the clearing of ‘The Jungle’ in Calais, one of the many results of all the other misery in the world, reveals callous prevarication by governments smug in their ineptitude.
And the young suffer most. And will bear the scars the longest. And provide the fuel for future conflagrations.
Human beings. We are all a part of humanity. And we are all we have.
And more and more we turn our backs, and look inwards, and close our eyes and our ears to the simple fact that there is no-one else but ourselves.
And the shame grows, and the anger grows, and the voices of humanity are drowned out by the sabre rattles of excuses long past their relevance.
When will we take a breath, take a step back, listen, and extend a hand and not a gun?
When men decide that maybe women should make the decisions perhaps?
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