I ATTENDED the Remembrance Day ceremony on Fremantle’s Monument Hill last Saturday and it made me think about the many wars and the millions of people who died during them.
With the mass killing of civilians by Israel going on in the Gaza Strip, and the zealot religious madness killing by Hamas, I wonder if we will ever learn that violence is never the solution.
The USA started the so-called war on terrorism after 9/11, but it has of course not got rid of that curse, and neither will Israel, whose prime minister has vowed to destroy Hamas.
It is telling that nowadays zealot Muslims fight against so-called infidels, which are those who do not follow Islam, but during the Christian Crusades of 1056-1300 CE it was European Christians who were trying to get rid of Muslims in the East, as they were considered infidels.
What both sides in this conflict are doing is very wrong.
The brutal act of terror by Hamas was inexcusable, and so is the killing of thousands of civilians by Israel, that appears to believe that the immense collateral damage is acceptable. It is not!
Both sides have killed innocent babies and harmless old people.
Those massacres are also happening in Ukraine, that is being invaded by Russia.
That brings me closer to home, to our world here in Australia, where violence is happening daily.
We have an enormous social problem with domestic violence, where disgruntled partners believe it is OK to assault or even kill their partners, mainly women, and sometimes even children.
On the streets we have the coward punches, maiming or killing innocent people, and lately the use of knives has become more common.
There is mad road rage and anger all over the place.
It is not on! It needs to stop!
Violence creates hate and hate creates more violence, so it is a vicious circle from which there don’t seem to be an escape.
How can we become more tolerant and more restraint in our actions?
How can the common people improve when our governments are quick to join violent actions against those they perceive to be a threat?
To me it feels too much like there is a macho attitude to life in politics, often initiated by old men, who themselves have very little to lose, but for their over-inflated egos and self-importance.
For every child, woman and man they kill in their wars, a new young person will grow up with immense hatred toward those who killed their families, thus new terrorists are born.
Respectful dialogue is often considered to be a weakness, by those who want revenge.
No one really wins wars, because the damage done is irreversible, as we are reminded of every Remembrance Day and Anzac Day.
Roel Loopers
Freoview.wordpress.com