Are we doomed to echo Nero, fiddling while Rome burns down around us?
WE live in dangerous times. Not since the end of the Cold War has the future seemed so uncertain and so filled with jeopardy. Last week’s terrorist atrocity in Nice was an utterly appalling act that shocked the entire world. However, it is mark of just how bleak the world has become that the savagery in Nice was greeted with grim resignation by many people who have been rendered numb by countless stories of horror, tragedy and hatred.
The catalogue of misery across the world makes for depressing reading. In France, Brussels and Orlando we have witnessed acts of appalling terror, fanaticism and murder. The Middle East remains mired in brutal war with hundreds being slaughtered on a weekly basis and tides of refugees daily fleeing for the relative safety of Europe. Last week’s attempted coup in Turkey is the latest potentially massive development in the tumultuous region.
In the USA, long seen as the bastion of freedom and liberalism in the Western World, race relations have plunged to violent lows not seen since the days of segregation. Meanwhile US politics have swung wildly to the far right with Donald Trump leading a populist campaign centred on racism, misogyny and the incitement of hatred.
Our nearest neighbours in the UK – where a dangerous racist right wing movement is growing in momentum – have created a crisis of historic proportions following their decision to leave the European Union. A crisis that threatens the very future of Europe and which has emboldened far right groups across the continent. The dangerous xenophobic mood among many Britons was highlighted, in the most horrifying way, by the brutal murder of young liberal Labour MP Jo Cox last month.
The above are the headline horror stories of recent months. There are numerous other major problems across the world that all require urgent action. Among them are the Zika Virus outbreak in South America; the ongoing situation in The Ukraine and the Crimea and the increasingly fractious relationship between Russia and Europe; continuing famine, war and bloodshed across Africa; and ongoing tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Many commentators – including numerous eminent historians – argue convincingly that the world has not been in such a precarious position since the 1930’s. History may not repeat itself but as Mark Twain said it often rhymes. A worrying fact is that at a time when the world faces enormous challenges the world’s population have never been more disengaged. The advent of The Internet – the greatest communications tool ever devised – has helped create a truly global community.
Sadly though the majority of this community seem far more interested in celebrity gossip; photos of cats and selfies (the ultimate form of 21st century narcissism) than the most serious global events. We live in a land where many people have an encyclopedic knowledge of politics in Game of Throne’s fictional world but can’t name their own local TD. That is surely a concern that should be addressed. Even the smallest engagement with the wider world can help shape the future and make our world a more positive place.
All that evil needs to succeed is for good people to do nothing. We owe it to the ourselves and our children to at least pay attention to what is going on around us. If we don’t there’s a very real chance that, one fateful day, people across the globe will finally look up from their phones and realise that the world went to hell in a handcart while they were trying to catch a Pokemon.