Syria. Iraq. Russia. Ukraine. Palestine. Israel. Sudan.
Libya. Mali. Whereas to the world they are simply
There is no doubt really in my belief that being educated
about international situations should be compulsory, but where I draw the line
is partial education. People talk about things with so much conviction and so much
passion, that you take one picture and run with it. And with the speed of
social media’s retaliation to international situations, you form a view almost
instantly, and preach it like it was a life or death situation for you. But
then you deviate from the path. You start reading up on the subject. You take
in both views. And you start realizing that the other side, although still not
angels, might not be as bad as you thought, because all you had in your knowledge
basket was a one sided story.
One the main things that irks me (and there are a lot of
main things that do irk me about wars), is aftermath. By the aftermath I don’t mean
the results of what occurs after the war is over, rather what happens three to
four weeks into the war. See, the brain is a complex system. When we are faced
with bad memories, one of two things happens. Either the brain suppresses the
memory, in which case the memory never really forms, or, and the more common in
these situations, the brain substitutes the memory. So the memory does form,
but the brain then replaces the memory with something happier, something
better. Circling back to my point, what happens is that we forget about the
war. I bet 90% of the world that was once debating Syria doesn't even know what
the current death toll is, or what is happening there. Occasionally a young boy
is killed, and everyone is all over social media again, but in five days to a
week, he is forgotten again. Everything is forgotten again.
Now I know that this
is an evolutionary advancement and the brains way of combating bad memories,
but are we really THAT cynical? Do we seriously treat the deaths of thousands
of people as “just another bad memory”? I’m not saying we should halt our lives
for the conflicts, but when did we ever anyway? I’m just as guilty as the next
person, but shouldn't our concerns extend past a few weeks?
The even more alarming thing that I found out is that the politicians,
the same people we blame for everything
wrong with this world, are actually
still talking about conflicts that started months ago. They are still holding
sessions, still trying to figure things out. So that begs a question, are we
worse than politicians? 
This politician talk is
perfect for my next point. We say that talking and diplomatic resolutions are
the solution to the world’s problem. We say that being civil is the way to go. We
actually take pride in the fact that so many situations have been averted and
so many lives saved, but do we know that nothing much has changed? In the early
20th century, wars around the world between 1900-1914 claimed
690,000 lives (minus the Chinese revolution of course). In the same time period
of the 21st century, some 680,000+ (and counting) people have been
killed. The difference between the two isn't much, and most probably we have gone
over the 690K count. So if we’re still killing each other, what has being “civil”
helped us achieve?
Being a ‘civil’ person is also sign of being part of the ‘great
21st century’. A century in the beginning of which mankind made an
alarming number of breakthroughs in technology. Social media was invented, conveniences
such as online shopping became more and more accessible, and prices of
necessities fell. But have we noticed
the turmoil technology has caused? Whereas before soldiers were put through
extensive years of training, endurance and strength, war today requires basic knowledge
of computers. People can kill other peoples by the flicker of a switch, just as
if they were turning on a machine. Whereas propaganda was flyers and hiding
information, it’s now a Facebook post or a Twitter tweet, with zero effort on
hiding information. If the fish is taking the bait anyway, why care to season
the worm?
The new world has also created another phenomenon I like to
call “the power of a whisper and the weakness of a shout”. It seems more and
more that we have an increasing number of Archduke Ferdinand’s. Tunisia, Libya,
Egypt and Syria were all the power of one man who set fire to himself. The
national and international protests, new articles and debates that followed on
the topic were meaningless in comparison to what this one man achieved. The
three Israeli children that were killed set the scene for around 700 deaths and
thousands of injuries, meanwhile protests and international views on both sides
have shown no mercy on this war. The whisper was small, but it’s outcome big.
The shout was big, but it’s outcome small.
A month ago, I would've posted about the war too. I would've condemned people too. And soon
enough, I would've forgotten too. But I came to a conclusion. It wasn't sides
killing people. It wasn't a war between Israelis and Palestinians. It wasn't a
war between Syrians and their government. It wasn't the formation of a so
called caliphate. It was a war of humans against humans. My beliefs direct me
to choose a side, but when I’m not busy dwelling over my beliefs, I always
favor humanity. It makes me wonder sometimes. Is it too much to ask from people
to be human? What if nationalities didn't exist, would we be better off? If we
would, strip me of my nationality now, because before anything, I am a human
being. I struggle, I enjoy success and I have emotions. I am like everyone
else. I am just like you.
Pic2: ahagear.com
