Has the world changed?

Ever notice how many times the phrase “the world was changed for ever” is used? We tend to forget that war, violence and devastating events have taken place since life was created. For many the First World War is something that we read about not feel or understand in its totality. Whether or not such events can be or should be felt in its totality hundreds of years later is worth debating.

World War One was to be the war that ended all wars. Well that was quickly proven false a few decades later with the second round of the first war. Then of course we have been enduring the fallout of the second war ever since. So goes the cycle as we deal with the continuation of religious wars that have been ongoing for thousands of years.

In every case we have sought to end the use of war. The greatest achievement in that effort has been the United Nations. This idea was born out of the First World War and the League of Nations and has the foundational goal to “Save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” spelled out in the opening lines of the Charter.

So here we are today. With all the above reality being mentioned, we have made great strides in the area of peace. It is very evident that we read and see a great deal of violence which gives the impression of a more violent world than ever before. However, the world is a far more peaceful place than ever before, we just know more about global events.

Furthermore, talking about the amount of violence is only useful if you are going to do something about it. The best way to deal with violence is to be aware and act with a peaceful mind at the earliest point. Now the next issue of peace comes into play which is the many differing methods to reach the goal of peace. You see, most conflicts are rooted in that very discussion.

The cold war was rooted in the battle between communism and capitalism. As stupid as that seems it was front and centre in every conversation. Now we have the ideology of freedom being the catalyst for many of the wars today. Think of the reality with both sides saying, “Either achieve freedom this way or we will kill you”, now that makes a great deal of sense.

Moving back to the use of the United Nations, we have to understand the thought for determining action or no action to intervene. Syria is a great case study for such an experiment. On the surface the entire situation is completely insane. The entire reason for the violence was to achieve more freedom for the people. Say what you want about the current government of Syria but the reality is that four years ago life was much better for the average person that it is today. The fight for freedom as the initial cause has already been killed and replaced by sectarian battles on the opposition side.

When I started out in this business I was told that the issues of politics remain the same as they were thousands of years ago. In short the world of politics never changes. The pursuit of peace has been the same before Moses crossed the Red Sea and will be the same until such a time each person reaches a point of enlightenment –whatever that is.