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Why? War, Violence, Suffering, Poverty
When I was a child and I was looking at the news I was scared. I saw Bhopal, airplanes being hijacked, nuclear accidents and I thought “but why?” and it filled my nights with terror and sadness.
I had at heart to have a job that would allow me to help humanity be more at ease and happy. I thought robotics could do that so I studied software engineering. I was hired to work on software for banks not realizing that this was most probably the field which helps humanity the least.
Fast forwarding 20 years I’m back into my childhood interrogation of “but why?”. Why do we allow a fascist like Donald Trump to prepare for WW3, why do we allow a system to make Hillary Clinton almost win the primaries of her party while Bernie Sanders has the popular support, why can’t we feed humanity when we produce already so much excess, why do people starve on the streets, so much why…
When I look at the video of Thich Nhat Hanh on the video page of this blog, the answer strikes me. We forgot who we are, we forgot that we are beings of Love and Compassion. Our Longing, Pity and Indifference is devastating our world and, worse, is generating an epidemic of sorrow that will only increase if we don’t awaken and remember who we are. We need to all become mindful and let go of the Evil Twins of Love, Compassion and Equanimity. We need to teach our children the same.
I don’t want to go long on this post. I don’t have answers about how to achieve that but I felt the need to ask again the question “but why?” and won’t forget this time that awakening is possible.
Why? Tracy Chapman
As closing I let you with the lyrics of this great song to reflect upon. Same questions still apply almost 20 years later. Let’s be mindful.
Why do the babies starve
When there’s enough food to feed the world
Why when there’s so many of us
Are there people still alone
Why are the missiles called peace keepers
When they’re aimed to kill
Why is a woman still not safe
When she’s in her home
Love is hateWar is peace
No is yes
And we’re all free
But somebody’s gonna have to answerThe time is coming soon
Amidst all these questions and contradictions
There’s some who seek the truth
But somebody’s gonna have to answerThe time is coming soon
When the blind remove their blinders
And the speechless speak the truth
—
Why? — Tracy Chapman
Walter
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