The Talibans killing of so many the other day capsulizes so much for me. If 114 American kids were killed in this manner, what would our reaction be? Hell, when 20 something kids in Connecticut were killed, we didnt do anything...but thats another story (sort of). At the end of each world war there was an attempt to unify nations to prevent future wars. At the end of the cold war, as the only super power, we had an opportunity to lead a new coalition to prevent war and solve world wide problems, but we didnt seize it. It wasnt a Democratic or Republican failure, both Bush I and Clinton couldve taken the initiative. When will we (the world, but led by us and other developed countries) finally come together and create an effective United Nations (or whatever you want to call it) to pool resources (military and economic) to destroy terrorism? This would mean, I suppose, an international way to address grievances, in addition to a force so powerful that any group determined to terrorize or make war on any other simply has no chance to succeed for very long. When will the world start seeing people as citizens of the world and not as simply citizens of their own country? Will it take an alien invasion from outer space, or is it possible that we can mature enough as a species to save ourselves from each other? Ive always felt very uneasy about patriotism and militarism because it seems to promote the notion that some lives are more valuable than others. I was once at Point-Du-Hoc, near the landing beaches in Normandy and saw an elderly German man pointing things out to a teenager whom I presumed was his grandson. He couldve been anybodys grandpop. It made me think of him and how much a victim of Nazism he most likely was himself. On D-Day I would certainly would have wished him dead. Our enemy is clearly evil ideas, not people, except those that perpetrate those ideas. Kill the ideas and the means to further those ideas and save the people. To those who see this sentiment as pie in the sky and unrealistic, its only so because too many still consider it to be. Once a critical mass is reached of those that see it as possible, and even to demand it, it will come to pass. Unless, of course, if its too late. So many other major shifts in human society, that once seemed impossible, have occurred. With technology and social networking its even more possible now, and can take place faster today than at any time in history...but it needs to come from the people of the planet, not from the governments (I believe).
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 13:52:01 +0000