It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World¹
I have read a number of excellent and very intelligent articles from Paul Combs and other great writers on the current crisis in Ukraine and these worrying times.
I am always reluctant to write about these things as not being qualified to comment on such important matters. I tend to focus on subjects that I enjoy and have a degree of knowledge about.
However, for one of the world’s constant worriers and insomniacs, I thought it might be cathartic for me to write something. I am obviously no historian or expert so below are just my personal, philosophical and somewhat confused thoughts on all the madness.
Most decent people will obviously wonder how Putin can do this. Why do people want to hurt one another and invade countries? Why can’t people just get along?
While I was pondering on the crisis, I reflected on the last time I saw Springsteen. It was June 2016. This was just before the UK voted to leave the EU and the anger started. This was before Trump was elected as president of the United States of America and all the division that followed. This was before a pandemic! The world seemed a much safer and better place.
But was it really a better place?
- Knife crime was rising steeply in the UK
- There was a failed military Coup in Turkey
- There was a raging civil war in Aleppo where so many lives were being lost. There was talk of chemical weapons having been used by Assad and the Russians were bombing the hell out of it
- And North Korea were conducting missile and nuclear tests
This was 2016.
Life was only only better in our little world because things were far away, and we were not directly affected. People were still suffering, and we like to do our bit to help. After very recently donating some money to Ukraine, I believe we try and comfort ourselves by giving donations to various charities to try and help some of world’s suffering. It makes us feel better, but we still feel safe because it is not on our doorstep.
Then Covid came along which affected the whole world. This was not something far away in Africa or the middle east that we could in one minute express our sorrow and then dismiss it to get on with our little lives. This was frightening! This could touch each and every one of us and our family and sadly it did for so many. Suddenly we were paying attention and scared.
Initially in the UK there was a bit of the old war spirit. We all started helping some of our elderly neighbours by checking in on them and doing their shopping. This was a crisis, but we wanted to help each other. However, as people’s restrictions started hurting then the divide started.
- Why should I keep wearing my mask? It is my right to choose.
- Why are you not wearing your mask all the time?
- Why are you not taking the vaccine to help protect others?
- Why should I put chemicals in my body that are not fully tested?
- If you haven’t been vaccinated then why you should be allowed to go out, or come into our country?
I am not taking any sides here; it is just an observation on how mistrust and anger can start so quickly and escalate amongst normal decent people.
Fear, mistrust, greed and jealousy can break out so easily on silly matters. We always think that we are so moralistic but what happens when one of neighbours builds a fence too high or moves too many of their family next door? What happens when a car encroaches too close behind us invading our space? There has been constant bickering in our neighbourhood over car parking spaces for years. These are all such silly little things in our lives but without proper dialogue things can escalate so quickly. Is this not happening in the world but on a much larger and serious scale?
Putin then invades Ukraine. This is Europe and not that far from our doorstep, so like Covid, this could affect us, and we are fearful!
What Putin has done is so deplorably evil, and there can simply be no condoning of it. However the West cannot just sit back and always take the moral high ground. Should we not take some blame for this? Have we been the neighbour who has built too many high walls over Europe and the world without really talking to anyone. Have we stuck our nose into too many holes? Have we been so arrogant and just taken it for granted that no one will be upset? We will not always get on with our neighbours but dialogue will always help to try and resolve matters. Putin sat back and watched the West invade Iraq on the premise of a lie. It may well have been to his advantage but whilst the invasion got rid of one of the world’s evil dictators, it caused thousands of lives, an ongoing civil war and empowered one of the most dangerous terrorist organisations the world has ever seen.
This then got me wondering about us as human beings and all the hate, anger and violence that goes on in this world. Surely people are born innocent and not wanting to hurt others. Is it just in our nature that when we want more, whether it be food or territory, it is then that things go wrong? When our space, beliefs, family are threatened by different ideas, is it then we turn to animal instincts? Are we really just animals with so called bigger brains who when feel threatened or in fear will react in any way to protect and conquer? One of our lovely cats (Boo Boo) is so cute and placid. He loves his cuddles at home. Then recently a new young cat has come into the close. The other day the young cat came close to our home and Boo Boo immediately attacked him. The young cat’s intention may have been just curious but he had come too close into Boo Boo’s domain and he felt threatened. If only they could have talked with each other! A very poor analogy against the current times but it just got me thinking.
When the Cuban missile crises was over, I believe a hotline was installed between the White House and the Kremlin to avoid misunderstandings and have better dialogue. This is a good thing. Disputes can never be resolved without dialogue. It is always good to be well informed about matters but we have to be careful. Today I wonder whether we now have too much communication and information. We have constant access to news and with mass social media fuelling people’s anger and with the emergence of so much fake news could lead to even more dangerous actions.
As I was lying in bed the other night, thinking that Putin must view the West as weak and decadent, this question came to me. Would Putin have invaded if Trump was still in charge? This was shortly followed by another outrageous question. Does it take one nutter in charge to act as a deterrent to another nutter destroying the world? Is that question even justifiable or responsible but these are the perplexed thoughts that go through a troubled mind in the early hours of yet another restless night.
Is it because the more people there are in this world, the more conflict is bound to arise. I am not particularly religious but highly respect people who are. If the story of the Bible is to be believed then Cain and Abel were the first two children in the world. Cain killed Abel out of jealousy. If that didn’t work out, how on earth is a population of over 7.5 billion supposed to get on with each other?
At the moment our little world goes on as normal. While walking through town the other day, I looked at people smiling and laughing wondering whether they had any thoughts on the current crisis. Do they even care? Later on I thought how presumptuous I was in even thinking that. I rarely show my emotions outside and smile at people in the street, so people could think the same about me. I am sure a lot of people are trying not to think of the unimaginable and doing the only thing they know and that is to get on with their lives the best they can. In these current times, when we think of our lives and all the little problems we have, I can’t seem to get this line from Casablanca out of my mind:
..it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.
As I read through my ramblings above, I realise they are a clumsy attempt to try and make some sort of sense of the insanity. But this is a clumsy world, full of clumsy people. There are no answers, just questions on what it is going on. We are all praying that the current conflict is resolved peacefully and quickly with no more bloodshed. Even if it does, the madness of this world will still continue.
I am now spent and need to quickly write about something I enjoy.
Apologies if this song has been shared on this subject before but it seemed appropriate.
¹The title is taken from a 1963 Stanley Kramer film that I quite enjoyed when I was young. It’s a comedy but in essence it is about greed.
