The year draws to an
end and a new year begins. It is the season of peace and goodwill. The last 18
months have felt like the pus pouring from a rotting wound. I have felt
bewildered by the hatred and cruelty that seems to be everywhere in the world
today. The gap between the super rich and the rest is widening. Racism and hate
are brazenly displayed. World leaders are standing by while there is genocide
in Burma, people dying of starvation in Yemen, murdering factions in the DRC
(Congo) and ongoing suffering in Syria. There is so much separation and
division, such violence and hate, that I feel a sense of deep despair. Where is
the hope? Where are the leaders that stand up for what is right and good? Where
are the leaders willing to make a
difference and speak out for the oppressed and weak?
In the richest
country America we see a leader who has only ever known wealth and affluence
brazenly displaying prejudice and ignorance. Leading his nation into some dark
places.
In the UK we see
politicians trying to outdo each other as Brexiteers, making wild claims about
the prospects of Britain separated from Europe. Coupled with this a rise in
hate crime and nationalism.
In Austria we have
seen the rise of a party with roots in Nazi thinking becoming the second
largest party and entering government through coalition.
Intolerance is on
the increase and is given more license by media and leaders with attitudes and
opinions filled with thinking that is based on attitudes of intolerance and
racism. Blaming their problems on others
(Muslim, black, immigrants, Mexicans etc.).
Far right groups are given air time and are on the increase (Austrian
politics has recently seen a far right group come 2nd in recent elections).
Demonization of immigrants, Muslims and foreigners is an increasing trend that
is reminiscent of the Nazi campaign against the Jews which started before the
2nd World War, when they were just a minor party.
The destruction of
other cultures and people starts with a seemingly good thing, the fight to
protect your own culture, people and way of life. This is used to justify
blaming another group which quickly descends to dehumanising and justified
destruction of this group. Good men and women are drawn into the thinking that
it is right to destroy another group if they are evil and threaten your own
people. The seeds for genocide are sown by good people twisted into bad
thinking.
I feel helpless as I
sit in my wheelchair and watch these events unfold. Frustrated by my speech
impediment and inability to express my views verbally, I have to write them
down. I worry about the world that we have created for our children. A world
that seems to lean easily toward hate and division, towards falsehood and
misinformation. Where is the hope?
I read a quote once
that said "For evil to flourish, good men and women must just do
nothing". It is going to take the voices of good people everywhere to
speak out in their daily lives against prejudice, dehumanisation, hate speech
and division. We all need to be more tolerant, less judgemental and more
caring. Working toward a future of hope and common humanity. A world that works
toward the common good.
I know that it
sounds like "namby pamby, liberal nonsense" but I am not saying that
we should just let go of our societal structures and norms, instead we should
examine the world around us and stand up for the weak, for the marginalized and
for those who need help.
As 2017 shudders to
its close and 2018 starts to show, make it your resolve to stand for good when
the world around you turns negative.
