APPARENTLY

 Apparently, we have all forgotten how to break things down into parts and pieces so that we can understand the causality, the motivations, the outcomes, the issues, and the possible solutions that could stand the test of time and sense and reality. This is extremely clear when one delves into situations within the world which can possibly set off inadvertent consequences greatly hostile to a safe and secure world. 

Worse is when these consequences are meant to happen even as the instigator dons a cloak of surprise and regret - though never enough as to ameliorate the matter and bring it to a safe and mutually satisfactory conclusion which will lead to a permanent peace. This situation most often occurs when biases interfere with logical and fair thinking and a lack of understanding of the causalities and the truths of the matter. What develops then is a situation which defies resolution and the bloodshed continues without any visible paths to the end. 

There are many such situations round our small globe which defy any and all attempts to resolve the issues. The causalities are many and deep: clan and religious conflicts, apparent insults to honor, the taking of revenge, greed for land, ambition for more wealth and power, desire to return to a "better"   time, tribal differences and so many more, as many as can be ginned up by a willing advocate of war.

War can be beneficial to a nation, to its ruling class, to a politician looking to deflect blame, or one looking to climb the rungs to power. It can be for need of a suddenly precious mineral or access to a shipping lane. It can be for reasons unfathomable or buried so deep in the past that it cannot be found nor understood. War can arise when we ignore history or pick and choose pieces of history which support our points and ignore any which would prove hostile to it and then refuse to end the matter. To concede defeat is out of question and thus on the bloody matter goes. And on and on. 

Areas and regions of conflict can all be exacerbated to the point where the opposing sides are so confused and apparently it is beyond their ability to find a resolution; hence on it goes and it feeds upon itself. Those who see personal and national benefit in its continuation manage to keep it going. Unresolvable, it just gets worse and worse and drags more and more people into it. Each new character entering the stage generally does nothing to the benefit but rather adds to the harm and the exacerbation and confusion and makes resolution even more difficult.

With some effort we could solve some of the decades long, ongoing issues - Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Armenia, Georgia, Pakistan, India, Philippines etc. for the guidelines are there. The wishes, the hopes are clear and justice can be found. For that to happen there must be compromise, at times, difficult, even painful, but it is certainly better than a constant war, a constant shedding of blood, a constant lack of a future for so many. 

However, there are conflicts which seem to defy all matter and manner of compromise and resolution. Too many within those difficult conflicts have no honesty in their words or intents and desire the whole rather than finding some hidden pathway to mutual satisfaction and a permanent realistic path to where wars will not be a seemingly natural occurrence every few years, and where peace will be possible, not merely a holding place till war seems beneficial to the instigator. 

China and Tibet. Russia and Ukraine. Multiple Arab and Moslem nations and Isreal. Turkey and Greece. These are areas where peace never breaks out in any permanent manifestation The aggressors are clear. The violations and denials of history are clear. Yet the world does not see through the fog and larger and more powerful entities enter the fray, claiming to have the answers, the key and yet all they do is exacerbate the situation. They add to this boiling pot of troubles their own personal issues, rubbing the sore spots and aggravating all the irritations already there. 

These areas become proxy wars for these powers testing themselves against each other, trying to prove to the world who should be the boss. They become testing grounds for new military equipment so much better at killing people. Any cessation of conflict is destined to be temporary for these powers need to flex their muscles, to be top dog, the alpha of the world.  They shout at each other and the world flinches and reacts. These reactions are often based on the thinking of the times, by which hands hold the reins of power and by the trends of thought sweeping the globe. 

The dogs of war are constantly unleashed, and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse are riding fast, the hooves of their steeds pounding the ground beneath, ever closer, louder, powerfully. The venom of hatred rises, ever more intense and toxic with no antidote available nor any on its way. 

Unfortunately, millions of people are caught up in these situations and are too often left to their own devices to figure out how to survive. Survival on its very basic level. Food to keep body and soul together. Access to clean water. Some kind of shelter from the elements. Dreams of a future for themselves or their children discarded, unrealistic.  Aid from those nations which can afford to send aid, who should send, is almost spastic in flow. Political affairs within those countries affect its flow. Even if actually getting to these countries, rebels or terrorists within often gain control of it, keep it for themselves or sell it on the black market. Medical aid is also severely restricted, insufficient even at the most basic level, nor necessarily what is most needed.  

Wars and areas of conflict, full blown or small, simmering away, are growing exponentially. Simply pay attention to the news, listen to the claimed issues and not understand why we cannot find another way to resolve matters, why we cannot learn to share our finite resources and lands, why we cannot work together to build rather than destroy.

Why can we not use the wisdoms of yesterdays combined with the powers and possibilities of todays and build secure, peaceful, productive tomorrows?

Answers, anyone?