as I struggle to find my own personal peace during this particular period of my parenting journey, I wonder what there is to say about our collective peace around the world. what has this year brought us in terms of coming together and working as a team to achieve some worthwhile goals? can we? have we? do we?
like most people, my mind tends toward the negative - the horrific residential schools that tortured and killed so many innocent Indigenous children in North America. the attempted insurrection at the Capitol building in the USA following our presidential election. how Black Lives Matter, yet still don't seem to get the justice they deserve. how Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (and other Black and Brown women) aren't given the attention they deserve. which is to say nothing of the ongoing pandemic, and the resulting economic instability...corruption continues to run rampant as democracies crumble, and iniquity grows. let's not forget to add what's quickly becoming a climate emergency to the list, too.
given this recipe for disaster, it's interesting to note that the Global Peace Index reports that while peace continues to deteriorate around the world, it supposedly decreased at a smaller rate this year than usual. well, thank goodness for small miracles, hey?
it constantly seems to me like the world is on fire, and I cannot understand why 'the powers that be' refuse to see the simple truth that most people living hand to mouth inherently 'get' - that we need each other to survive. I know the uber-rich think they're just going to shoot themselves off into space and therefore avoid the whole issue, while ignoring the fact that the money they put into their little space-trips could feed entire nations for a year or more. look at whose net worth increased by the billions during a time of global strife and you will know where to point your fingers when war/famine/disease land on your front door.
ugh. there's so much to be disgusted by, so let's look at what (if anything) got better this year:
- the total number of assets divested from the fossil fuel industry has increased to about $14 trillion globally, and government fossil fuel subsidies has fallen to a record low of $181 billion in 2020, a 42% drop from 2019
- in the long run, murders and other crimes have fallen...in wars and other violent conflicts, deaths are at their lowest number in history.
- less violence in the world may also be related to the fact that people are more intelligent.
- the shrinking of the ozone layer prompted an adequate response, and we are seeing the first signs of the ozone layer returning to normal.
- the carbon intensity of the US economy has been declining for over half a century and CO2 emissions have also been declining worldwide
- the United Nations has adopted the Goals of Sustainable
Development, which aim not only at improving the environment in general
but also at improving the quality of life around the world.
- the Internet is leading to the spread of knowledge and the further elimination of geopolitical and social inequalities.
I don't know...the info varies depending on which site you visit, so I'm not going to back any of these statements as true, but I've posted some links and a few articles (above and below) so you can check them out for yourself. for my self, I'm working to increase my own peace by tending to my spiritual well-being, and amplifying the voices I feel need/deserve amplification (click those links!).
how are you creating peace in your corner of the world? do you believe housing is a human right? how about access to clean water and food? education? health care? trans rights? sex work being real work? if yes, right on! if not...why?
resources:
Pessimism Makes The Headlines But The World Is Getting Better
Between 2020 and 2021, the Earth's vital signs got worse
23 charts and maps that show the world is getting much, much better
Social justice is a constant theme on peace globes today. It makes me happy to see us advocating for change without and within. Your post is strong and well-written. It's hard not to "see" the parts of humanity that need improving. I appreciate the time you took to highlight improvements. I learned so much and it gave me hope! We keep plugging along for peace and justice, love and equality, and working on ourselves in the process. That's the work.
ReplyDeleteThank you for blogging for peace.
Peace to you and yours,
Mimi
I want to have hope, and I mostly do, but as you well know, there's also a great deal to worry about. especially to those of us watching our next generations inherit what we leave them. as you say, dear Mimi, "that is the work." it most definitely is, and we'll keep on doing it together. 💙
DeleteNo justice, no peace. I deeply feel every word you have written. Thank you for addressing the residential school horrors, Black Lives Matter, the murdered and missing women.........sigh. I live in the village Chantel Moore came from, so your words hit home. I know some of her relatives. At my age (75), I have been working for peace and warning of the climate crisis for decades and it is SO frustrating that nothing changes. Trudeau spoke his usual smooth words at the recent climate conference. Yet Canada funnels 12 billion dollars a year into the fossil fuel industry, plus subsidies and tax breaks, and only FOUR billion for the climate crisis. Empty words. I relate to Greta's "blah blah blah." I have always been hopeful but since 2016 it has been harder to hang onto hope. Change is not going to come from the top down as it should. It will need to come from the bottom up, when enough of us are suffering enough to get out into the streets and make noise. And as wildfires, floods and storms continue, and the rich get richer and the poor cling to life, as we lose species at an alarming rate, those days are coming. The indigenous elders in my village say "change is coming and it is going to be hard." And no one knows how to live with Mother Earth better than the First Nations. Thank you for your thought-provoking post. Mainstream people need to know this stuff. We have to be brave enough to know what we know and not turn away or be in denial. Well I have written a book here. But your post really speaks to me.
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness, Sherry - thank you so much for this 'book'! it must be so hard to be that close to someone who has gone missing, and feel the rising anxiety and pain from their family members. I am SO with you (and the Indigenous elders) in feeling a sense of dread for our future as concerns our planet, and I honestly believe it's time for the colonizers to sit down and let native knowledge lead. thank you (again) for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. 💙
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