This might get a little rambly... Fair warning... :)
I'm an eternal optimist. Anyone who knows me at all knows this - I am looking forward to a bright future for the world in general, and for each of us individually. I am hopeful and confident that things will ultimately work out for the best and for the benefit of us all. I really, really do believe this.
That doesn't mean that I'm not realistic about what's going on now.
There are a couple of things in the way of geopolitics that are bothering me at the mo. The first is the so-called Islamic State. I really try hard not to buy in to the hype surrounding these folks. I'm also pretty sure that they don't represent a long-term concern for the nation states in the middle east. But short-term, yeah - I'm concerned. But what I'm concerned about is not the rapid growth of areas controlled by these folks. Although their progress appears dramatic on a map, most of the ground they "occupy" is desert and sparsely populated. It would be like someone declaring western Box Elder County a separate republic. Yeah, it's something we should try to avoid, but its overall impact on anyone or anything is minimal.
What concerns me is the attitude and thinking, and how we should react to it. When I see the trouble this group is causing, part of me wants to react quickly, decisively, and probably too precipitously. So I applaud the general restraint of western powers in not getting more involved. I am concerned that Iran may have more imperialistic and expansionist ideas in the region, but that's a bridge we'll have to cross when we come to it. If we come to it.
I'm more concerned that these ideas have gained a foothold at all. I'm talking about something that appears to have grown in part out of the mostly peaceful Arab spring (a bit of a misnomer, I grant you, given the diversity of nations and peoples who were involved). I don't believe that the majority of people in the area like or condone violence. I believe that they're not that different from anyone else - they just want what everyone else wants - peace, prosperity, stability... It's not that hard of a thing to understand.
So how do we reconcile the news headlines with what we would otherwise believe about these folks/our fellow human beings? How do we view the violence that has perpetuated in the region for the past - well, pretty much forever - in the face of the ideals that sprang from the very soil of this area (three of the world's major religions, all of which espouse the ideals of peace and brotherhood)?
And even more relevant, perhaps - how do we whisper peace in the ears of those who have grown deaf due to the sound of gunfire, present in their lives since the day they were born?
I don't know.
I don't know what it would be like to grow up in a world like these folks experience, with violence and destruction a fairly common occurrence. I don't know what it must feel like to not have the stability and blessing of peace. I don't know how I would react if, given the same circumstances, I were given the opportunity to so SOMETHING, ANYTHING to try to affect change in my life and in the region... I just have no common frame of reference, and it's troubling to me. As an outsider, which I will always, always be in this kind of thing, it may be easy for me to say that everyone should put down their guns and just stop it. Just, STOP IT. There are wrongs and hurts and injustices that persist in the world, and some of these justify taking up arms, in defense of one's family, one's prosperity, and against evil designs of tyrannical factions. I don't want to tell people how they should act or feel. But I am not a little dismayed that these folks are not able to come to an understanding and find peace.
The other thing I'm concerned about is Russia. I read this article this morning:
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32976294
Here's the quote that captured my attention:
Olya's fears grew as the troubles in Ukraine spiralled into conflict, causing blazing rows that split her family - and many others too. "Some believe America will use what's happening in Ukraine to attack Russia - and they say that we should attack first because that's the best defence," she tells me. "All I want is to find a place on earth where everyone knows the law and abides by it, and where there isn't corruption. I'm so sick of it. And I'm tired of arguing about Ukraine. What's happening there is insane, and it's terrifying that it could lead to a full-scale war. All I want is a small patch of land where there's peace and quiet."
As I noted above, I believe that's what everyone wants. Everyone.
Sigh.
I'm an eternal optimist. Anyone who knows me at all knows this - I am looking forward to a bright future for the world in general, and for each of us individually. I am hopeful and confident that things will ultimately work out for the best and for the benefit of us all. I really, really do believe this.
That doesn't mean that I'm not realistic about what's going on now.
There are a couple of things in the way of geopolitics that are bothering me at the mo. The first is the so-called Islamic State. I really try hard not to buy in to the hype surrounding these folks. I'm also pretty sure that they don't represent a long-term concern for the nation states in the middle east. But short-term, yeah - I'm concerned. But what I'm concerned about is not the rapid growth of areas controlled by these folks. Although their progress appears dramatic on a map, most of the ground they "occupy" is desert and sparsely populated. It would be like someone declaring western Box Elder County a separate republic. Yeah, it's something we should try to avoid, but its overall impact on anyone or anything is minimal.
What concerns me is the attitude and thinking, and how we should react to it. When I see the trouble this group is causing, part of me wants to react quickly, decisively, and probably too precipitously. So I applaud the general restraint of western powers in not getting more involved. I am concerned that Iran may have more imperialistic and expansionist ideas in the region, but that's a bridge we'll have to cross when we come to it. If we come to it.
I'm more concerned that these ideas have gained a foothold at all. I'm talking about something that appears to have grown in part out of the mostly peaceful Arab spring (a bit of a misnomer, I grant you, given the diversity of nations and peoples who were involved). I don't believe that the majority of people in the area like or condone violence. I believe that they're not that different from anyone else - they just want what everyone else wants - peace, prosperity, stability... It's not that hard of a thing to understand.
So how do we reconcile the news headlines with what we would otherwise believe about these folks/our fellow human beings? How do we view the violence that has perpetuated in the region for the past - well, pretty much forever - in the face of the ideals that sprang from the very soil of this area (three of the world's major religions, all of which espouse the ideals of peace and brotherhood)?
And even more relevant, perhaps - how do we whisper peace in the ears of those who have grown deaf due to the sound of gunfire, present in their lives since the day they were born?
I don't know.
I don't know what it would be like to grow up in a world like these folks experience, with violence and destruction a fairly common occurrence. I don't know what it must feel like to not have the stability and blessing of peace. I don't know how I would react if, given the same circumstances, I were given the opportunity to so SOMETHING, ANYTHING to try to affect change in my life and in the region... I just have no common frame of reference, and it's troubling to me. As an outsider, which I will always, always be in this kind of thing, it may be easy for me to say that everyone should put down their guns and just stop it. Just, STOP IT. There are wrongs and hurts and injustices that persist in the world, and some of these justify taking up arms, in defense of one's family, one's prosperity, and against evil designs of tyrannical factions. I don't want to tell people how they should act or feel. But I am not a little dismayed that these folks are not able to come to an understanding and find peace.
The other thing I'm concerned about is Russia. I read this article this morning:
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32976294
Here's the quote that captured my attention:
Olya's fears grew as the troubles in Ukraine spiralled into conflict, causing blazing rows that split her family - and many others too. "Some believe America will use what's happening in Ukraine to attack Russia - and they say that we should attack first because that's the best defence," she tells me. "All I want is to find a place on earth where everyone knows the law and abides by it, and where there isn't corruption. I'm so sick of it. And I'm tired of arguing about Ukraine. What's happening there is insane, and it's terrifying that it could lead to a full-scale war. All I want is a small patch of land where there's peace and quiet."
As I noted above, I believe that's what everyone wants. Everyone.
Sigh.
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