‘Wars and Rumours of Wars …’
I was bought up to fear the future. It was always going to be apocalyptic from my perspective, though ‘spiritual’ rather than manmade reasons were the proposed cause. As it turns out, we were always the biggest threat to the natural world - and to the human race.
I joined CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) when I was 17. It seemed like the big issue of the day. Nukes scared me. I’d read Raymond Briggs ‘When the Wind Blows’. I knew the futility of the ‘paint your windows white’ Government campaign. We were so gullible. There is no ‘away’ for radioactive isotopes, be they bombs or energy.
Peace was the watchword, the objective, whether it was in Northern Island, Vietnam, Lebanon, Angola, Ethiopia or East Timor. I looked it up. When I was growing up there were over 30 violent hotspots in the world. No wonder my fretful mind was fearful and wanting peace.
Not much has changed, except we are now bombarded with news 24 hours a day and have become, in many ways, habituated to violence, war and killing. No one campaigns for nuclear disarmament and peace seems a pipe dream, pushed further into the ether by power grabs and greed.
I have no less fear for the future now than I did back in the 70’s, though the tenor of it is different. It’s more rooted in facts and observation: the lack of action by governments to tackle the climate crisis and the war-mongering of power-crazed, greedy, selfish men.
The devastation in Syria, the war in Ukraine, and the Israel/Gaza conflict make me anxious and sad and angry. No amount of placards and protests seem to be making any difference. We still need to cultivate peace - in our own hearts if nowhere else - but it’s not enough. We need to call out the wrongs of men using bombs to blast their point of view into the world, killing innocents, destroying cultures.
I have no idea what to do about any of it, but I’m trying to face down fear with hope.
Join me.