It’s like watching a fall in a movie in slow motion. You know you can’t really stop it, as much as you’d like to. We see the collective world pieces moving into place for a third world war and thinking people worldwide are wondering why countries such as Italy and Sweden are electing hard right candidates. Especially when Russia is invading countries at will. I’m no politician and I resent having to be drawn into political topics, but at times you just have to say something. Even if it won’t change anything. Parts of the Bible are like that—witnesses simply wanting it to be noted. Something seen, something said.
My family wasn’t political as I was growing up. They pretty much just voted Republican, being in a rather Pennsyltuckyish county. When I was nearing voting age I asked my mother about the political parties. We’d learned about hawks and doves in school, and having been taught that Republicans tended to be those who started wars I wondered why Christians voted for them. She really didn’t have an answer for me and I later came to realize that as a certain segment of Protestantism is actively attempting to bring about the second coming, this fits the plan. One way to do so is by initiating wars—environmental degradation is another—because they believe it’s all going to end soon anyway. Although Jesus advocated for peace, they choose war, ironically, to bring Jesus back. That was the start of my journey to the Democratic party. War serves no purpose.
In democracies worldwide right-wing parties are propagandizing heavily to urge nationalism. Separatism. Fear of the stranger. Many in Russia believe Putin’s rhetoric that Ukraine is a dangerous threat to the largest country in the world. China, the largest country in terms of population, feels threatened by the small island nation of Taiwan. Borders around much of India are disputed. The control of resources, in thrall to capitalism, makes people want to close borders and watch out for their own. At least their own that are members of their party. From my perspective it’s difficult to see a peaceful way out of this. Even the world’s oldest democracy falls prey to the propaganda of a known swindler. Human society is complex. We have enough resources to meet the needs of all except the greedy, but it’s the greedy who run for office. We have, it seems, forgotten the last century entirely.