|
EARTH WARS
Monday June 13, 2016
Since before recorded history, humans have battled. Innocent victims, just as dead no matter who killed them. Or why.
Remember when we called it ‘peace time’?
We’ve built Peace Towers, Peace Parks and we have the Peace Bridge …
Enemies, threats and fear – scary words, used to fit war time. Innocent victims. We empathize. With families and communities. Lone crazed gunman? Or army? What’s the difference?
Few fingers point at ‘all of us’, and I don’t mean the rhetoric of ‘if we all loved each other more’ or ‘if we all went to church’ or ‘if we all were more tolerant’. We are at war. Still. Always. It has never stopped, it just seems to have new chapters.
We’ll never forget Pearl Harbour, or 9/11, or D-Day. Really?
Who remembers any other atrocities? Sure, for a few decades, a few generations …
We’ve yet to come to grips with this new/next war’s reality. Today, it’s battlefield Orlando. Tomorrow, next week, next month – somewhere else. Horrible headlines replaced by newer horrible headlines.
Centuries of wars. Religion. Territory. Power. Greed. Fear. Then the big WWI and WWII, wars to end all wars. Einstein warned the fourth WW would be fought with sticks.
Remember, end-stages of the Vietnam war, when American generals finally admitted their methods left them ill-equipped to fight their enemy in guerilla jungle war? Remember the cold-war? I don’t yearn for it, but life and fear and threats seemed simpler then – the Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall, the doomsday clock warned WWIII would be nuclear.
Will the third WW be nuclear?
I believe a new world war is well underway. Nobody has a grip on what it is, how to identify our enemy, no clue how to defeat it. WW3.0 is www, it’s GPS, a whole new thing – fought in the daily data jungle, and, it seems now, in gay bars in Orlando.
Blame game begins anew, not so much a fresh discussion as it is continuation of previous blame games – villains are laws, or lack of them, bad people, bad organizations, guns and warfare. Blame ISIS, blame one young man, blame his religion, blame his act, blame his victims – tune in, you’ll hear it all and soon. And it’s a U.S. election year so we’ll hear from every politically motivated talking head about who, when, how many and why it is somebody’s fault. Trump will blame Obama. Clinton will blame the GOP. Europe will roll their eyes. Asia will say, ‘we’ll see’.
But who will act, change things? Politics and laws, morals and religion – greed, power, territory, is this new war about anything different than all the wars that have gone before?
written / published from Calgary, AB
morning walk with Gusta: 12C/53F, light breeze, a few clouds .. a few worries, but mostly the omnipresent pressure of a full schedule, full day ahead – full week actually, lucky me! … Gusta enjoyed her short romp (how quickly she forgets her long one at 2AM), her breakfast, and now she sleeps/sheds on the carpet
Reader feedback:
IN THE HANDS OF OUR CREATOR
Mark, Can’t help but think based on what you’re saying that your birthday is today? Is it? Cheers, MH, Vancouver, BC [editor’s note: no .... though I've been glaring at those forms to fill for Canada Pension ...I've got a birthday coming up in less than 60 days - yikes! Growing up my two toughest dates each year were Mother's day and June 12th ... my mother's birthday; it was cruel punishment for a kid to have to buy two gifts, two cards, and write two bits of warmth for someone he didn't feel warmth for ... let alone love - so, it's a date each year which makes me thoughtful]
Good one today Mark. I, myself being only 63, have no plans to stop once I am comfortable enough to leave doing what "I do" for a living. I have recently gone back to pottery, something that I left doing in 1983. Really enjoyed it then & thought that I was making some good pieces. I'm not saying that I will make any money in what I throw off the wheel in one of my new endeavors but I will enjoy what I am doing. I have started to get the mind set that it's time to not be so harried like when I was in my twenties & thirties & beyond. It's time to enjoy keeping my brain cells active & my muscles & joints working. Have a great Sunday, MC, Bottrel, AB
Mark: A very thoughtful piece today. It made me think of the last lines of the famous Dylan Thomas poem:
"Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
Best regards, MGT, Calgary, AB
You do such a great job with birthday wishes, Mark. Thank you so very much. And, loved your column yesterday - regarded it as a ramp up to another year. You mean a lot to me, even though we seem to connect so seldom - at least face to face. Hugs, CB, Calgary, AB
“IF YOU ARE ALIVE, THRIVE” .... I love it. Everything we do has the capacity to change not only our outcome, but of all around us. Just want you to know you do make a difference; keep it going and thank you! =), ?, ?
| 