The lyrics of the song that is playing just struck a chord with me.
By all measures, I have lived a very privileged life. I won the genetic lottery and was born in America where I have the freedom to pursue any dream that I may have. I’m also white and male, which, you may or may not believe, affords certain extra privileges that people of other races and genders absolutely do not get. There was a point in time in my younger years when I denied this. I bought into the idea that EVERYONE receives the exact same opportunities.
I had the rose colored glasses through which I viewed the world ripped from my eyes one day and I then could see clearly that was not the case.
When we got back from sailing, the tragedy in Charlottesville occurred. It was then that the travesty began.
I find it horrific that politicians, journalists, and media organizations, among others, seize hateful murder and exploit it for their own gain and agendas. Furthermore, (and I’m certainly NOT a Trump supporter) some organizations somehow pile the blame at Trump’s feet just as other organizations piled the blamed at Obama’s feet for anything that went wrong and still do. Yes, I actually heard Obama blamed for Charlottesville.
Things are never that simple, but simplicity can be found anyhow.
I see so much pain and suffering in this world. I wanted to escape all this and still do. Not the pain and suffering itself so much as the political and monetary profiting from it which heaps on completely preventable pain and suffering.
But, there is no escape from the human condition, I suppose.
I wrote several articles on peace for the Fuji Declaration. I wrote those articles out of true belief. This one https://fujideclaration.org/the-language-of-peace/ I think speaks to our current problem. We try to create peace in the present from a violent past in which we cannot or refuse to see peace. Our politicians, religious and spiritual leaders, journalists, business leaders, and many others still look at our past from a fear and hate based perspective and then attempt to take action in the present. It’s ineffectual at best and quite often actually more damaging than we realize. As long as we continue to do that, we will never have peace and our current hateful climate will continue and accelerate.
But, history tells us that this is the way the world works. I wonder if we will ever evolve and grow beyond all this.