I have grown increasingly disturbed by the number of wars being fought around the world. These wars are based on political agenda, ethnic cleansing, and religious disagreement, as well as gang violence, terrorism, and drug wars. Every day the news is filled with conflicts and death tolls. Nearly 7 million refugees from Syria, and 6 million each from Ukraine and Afghanistan, are fleeing from their native homes to safer terrain. New fighting has now broken out in Israel and it seems that there is no end to these wars. Turkey, parts of Europe – especially Germany – the United States, Canada, and some smaller countries offer refuge to those fleeing for the safety of themselves and their families. Many of these countries are overwhelmed by the volume of people entering them.
Our world is becoming “smaller” not only because of the sheer number of human beings living on it, but also because those places that have been blown up by bombs have become uninhabitable. Added to all of the human caused devastation, are the frequent natural disasters. It is a grim situation. I listen to NPR News or BBC World News only a few times a week. I listen only in the evening because I do not want to begin a brand new day with so much depressing news.
The wars around the world are concentrated mainly in smaller countries and in Africa. Most of Europe, North America, and Russia are not engaged in these wars – at least not on their own turf. However; they remain involved in these foreign wars, either actually or monetarily.
The U.S. has provided military aid in the form of nearly $100 billion dollars to Ukraine, to buy weapons and ammunition. Ukraine continues to ask for more. This, in my mind, is the problem. We have used Earth’s resources to make guns and bombs. Bombs, unlike face to face combat, destroy life for miles around. They do not destroy only human life and human surroundings; they destroy trees and most every living thing in the vicinity. In short, they destroy life.
The billions of dollars spent on military, guns, and other lethal weapons, might have been spent instead, to fund environmental agencies wishing to heal our planet, to replant forests, and to bring back biodiversity. They could have been spent to feed the hungry. They could have been spent to spread peace instead of hate.
I am fortunate to live in a country that is not war-torn, but, I wonder, for how long? How long can we remain insulated from the violence that is all around us? How do we stop it from infiltrating the minds of our youth, through social media? With the increased violence in our schools, is it just a matter of time before that violence escalates? With a divided political party and politicians who stoop to verbal assaults, instead of having mature conversation, is it only a matter of time before it turns to real fighting?
Many of the refugees have looked up to our country as a democratic ideal. This is why so many have chosen to emigrate here. This is now our opportunity to show the world what we are really made of. Will our country be everything they had hoped for – or will it become another nightmare?
