Violence, Death, Destruction...
Today, the news is full of violence, death and destruction. At a Shiite mosque in Kuwait, at a factory in France, a coastal resort in Tunisia. In Israel, in Kobani in Kurdistan. People are dead or dying, people are wounded, people are crying, people are hurting. And why? Because some believe that they are more right than others? Because some believe that their truths are more valid than others? Because some believe their interpretation of religion or God's laws are more correct than another's? Because some believe that it is up to them to terrorise, kill and destroy?
At least27 28 are dead and 36 wounded in Tunisia. In Kobani in Kurdistan, 150 or more dead and many wounded. In Kuwait, last
death toll I read mentioned 5 24 dead and 15 wounded. In Israel too,
people have been attacked, people die. Not by the dozens usually, so the news doesn't speak about
it. Or perhaps the news simply doesn't care as much about innocent Israelis as about innocent British or French people? Reuters tells me that Saudi-led jets bomb Yemen. How many will die
there? Not through terror or the hand of man - not directly, anyway - hundreds are dead and dying in Pakistan due to the heatwave. And according to reports I just read, in Somalia at least 30 40 people have been killed in clashes.
Around the world, every day, people are murdered, terrorised, raped, assaulted. Some attacks cause great waves, some only ripples, some are barely spoken of. We are all human. All equal. All the same. All sentient beings capable of rational thought. We may think different thoughts, believe different things to be true, speak different languages, live in different countries, dream different dreams... Yet we are also all thinking beings capable of love, compassion, communication, understanding, hope, gratitude, ...
It is days like today, when it seems like the news and social media are full of war, destruction, terror, hatred, greed and injustice that I wonder if humanity will ever stop repeating the same mistakes, if we will ever learn to stop being violent creatures, if we will ever learn that communicating with others, learning about them, understanding them and seeing them as equals is the only way forward, the only way to true world peace and global humanity.
Imposing one's views on another does not create peace. Killing others because you believe you are more right than they are does not create peace. Hurting others because their beliefs are different from yours does not create peace. But, do we even want peace? Do enough of us even want peace? Do we want ourselves, our children and grandchildren to live, to be safe, to know peace, to understand love, compassion and tolerance? Or are we bound to repeat the same mistakes over and over again?
Thankfully there was some good news as well - the Supreme Court of the United States of America has ruled that marriage is now allowed for all couples in America, whether they are male-female, male-male or female-female. Good on you, America and YAY for all couples in America who can now legally marry when before their love was not recognised the same way others' love was.
As I searched for a positive quote to add to a rather Doom-and-Gloom-y post, I came across a quote by Gautama Buddha. I was looking for a Yoda-esque "anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering" quote, however the one I added below feels a lot more appropriate.
At least
Around the world, every day, people are murdered, terrorised, raped, assaulted. Some attacks cause great waves, some only ripples, some are barely spoken of. We are all human. All equal. All the same. All sentient beings capable of rational thought. We may think different thoughts, believe different things to be true, speak different languages, live in different countries, dream different dreams... Yet we are also all thinking beings capable of love, compassion, communication, understanding, hope, gratitude, ...
It is days like today, when it seems like the news and social media are full of war, destruction, terror, hatred, greed and injustice that I wonder if humanity will ever stop repeating the same mistakes, if we will ever learn to stop being violent creatures, if we will ever learn that communicating with others, learning about them, understanding them and seeing them as equals is the only way forward, the only way to true world peace and global humanity.
Imposing one's views on another does not create peace. Killing others because you believe you are more right than they are does not create peace. Hurting others because their beliefs are different from yours does not create peace. But, do we even want peace? Do enough of us even want peace? Do we want ourselves, our children and grandchildren to live, to be safe, to know peace, to understand love, compassion and tolerance? Or are we bound to repeat the same mistakes over and over again?
What you need to know about the terror attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait: http://t.co/1jVZicdHWq pic.twitter.com/em5y3oD8pr
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) June 26, 2015
Thankfully there was some good news as well - the Supreme Court of the United States of America has ruled that marriage is now allowed for all couples in America, whether they are male-female, male-male or female-female. Good on you, America and YAY for all couples in America who can now legally marry when before their love was not recognised the same way others' love was.
As I searched for a positive quote to add to a rather Doom-and-Gloom-y post, I came across a quote by Gautama Buddha. I was looking for a Yoda-esque "anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering" quote, however the one I added below feels a lot more appropriate.
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