Tuesday 22 July 2014

Humanity?

In the news at the moment there is so much distress.  With the ongoing problems in Israel and Palestine and the Ukrainian rebels shooting down innocents, I wonder if many of us have lost touch of what humanity means.

My dictionary says humanity is “the human race”.  To me this implies one race, one people.  It also says “the quality of being human”, then “kindness or mercy”.  At the moment there doesn’t seem to be a lot of humanity going on. 

80 children were killed in the plane in Ukraine, along with so many other loved ones; fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, daughters and sons, uncles and aunts.  All those families that are now grieving because of politics.  Because a group of angry people decided it was OK to use such weapons because they were ‘freedom fighters’!  As far as I can tell the Ukraine government were not doing anything unjust to these people.  It’s all about politics: a change in government that they didn’t want.  But what gives them the right to take away other people’s lives in the name of their cause?  Are we not all equal as human beings?

And Israel, who seem to have the west’s politicians on their side, feel it's acceptable to massacre innocents in Palestine in the name of punishing Hamas.  I studied that conflict in school nearly 30 years ago.  It’s been going on since the 50’s when we gave land to a people that wasn’t ours to give.  Is it not time for the west to admit they were wrong and try to find a proper solution?  How many more human beings will be killed in the name of political cause?

From the point of view of a widowed person I understand loss.  My loss was through an accident and difficult as that was to accept, it was not really anyone’s fault.  It was caused through a bad decision and a reflex reaction.  Many of the widows and widowers I have met since, have also lost partners due to accidents, and many to disease, some to misconduct, some to suicide, a few due to conflict abroad or murder.  But when another human being takes away your loved one for political cause – often when they were nothing to do with the enemy – that is truly a criminal and unjust act. 

It deeply saddens me to think of all the hundreds of people grieving because of the selfish behaviour of a few who have managed to place themselves in power, or in control of terrible weapons.  And for what?  WE ARE ALL HUMAN.  WE ARE ONE RACE.  So why do we insist on squabbling over land, boundaries, political affiliations.  We are capable of so much more.  If we could only put aside our differences and see what we all have in common.  If all the energy that is put into hatred of our fellows, could be redirected to solving greater problems, such as climate change or research to cure disease, just think how much more we could achieve. 

There are too many of us for this planet, and I suppose we are seeing geographic theory in action.  When a population increases then disease, famine, drought and war will reduce it.  That’s the theory.  But if humanity would start acting human, kind and merciful, and work together I truly believe there would be no stopping us – we could reach for the stars and perhaps even evolve a little in the process.  Something that has barely happened since we emerged in our current form.

At the moment though I hold little hope that this will happen in my lifetime or even that of my daughter or any children she may have in the future.  There is too much bitterness and hatred.  We haven’t yet learned how to co-exsist with anyone who is even minutely different from us.  Even in liberal western countries hatred abounds.  Hatred of anyone different from us; anyone who doesn’t conform or happens to be ‘foreign’.  We think too small.  We can’t yet see the bigger picture – the endless possibilities that lie within out grasp – if only we could put our hatred and fear and bitterness aside. 

I fear for the future of the humanity.  But mostly I am sad for all those new people who have to grieve because of others hatred, greed, fear, politics, and for their lack of humanity. 

2 comments:

  1. I totally agree with what you say.Every word. I often wonder why it is so hard to understand each other, and accept we have our differences, stop being selfish and just accept that iscthe way we are.
    Ken.H

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    1. Thank you for your support Ken - it all just seems so pointless and I can't understand why those involved can't see it!

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