I will not become one of those inevitable aging individuals who asks, "What is this world coming to?"
My insurance policy will not be a steel-walled bunker in the backyard.
After all, the Earth has spun on its own axis and whirled around the sun for billions of years now.
More than likely, the planet will keep right on spinning for millennia.
Humanity has existed for quite some time as well. And in all that time, people have done amazing things, inspiring things, cruel things, and indifferent things. From the first tribes brave enough to cross narrow bridges of land to settle new continents, to explorers bold enough to dream of colonizing Mars, humans have shown a capacity for daring. From the first artists to create crude drawings on the walls of caves by the light of dim fires, to engineers who construct wonders that touch the sky, humans have strived to bring permanence to an ever-changing planet. From the first raiders who pillaged tiny villages to armies that seek to eradicate entire populations, people have demonstrated a willingness to harm their own species. From the first dirt road traveler to hurry past as a beggar is beaten and robbed, to urban residents who silently steel themselves against the cries of a woman stabbed to death on the street below, humans have displayed breathtaking indifference.
More than likely, humans will continue to do what humans do for generations to come.
There truly is nothing new under the sun, right? We don't affect the universe nearly as much as we would like to believe, do we?
I get it. There are good people and there are bad people. There are bad people who do good things and good people who do bad things. There are people who only think of themselves, and people who always put the needs of others ahead of their own. Some people alter the world in ways that seem impossible and others appear to leave no mark at all. And on and on and on.
Lately, though, I can't help but wonder what type of planet my children - and their children - will inherit.
As years go, 2015 is in its infancy and yet, it is already off to a rocky start.
First, there is this man, an Arizona cardiologist and anti-immunization advocate who recently gave the following interview, as reported by CNN:
"It's not my responsibility to inject my child with chemicals in order for [a child like Maggie] to be supposedly healthy," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's very likely that her leukemia is from vaccinations in the first place."
"I'm not going to sacrifice the well-being of my child. My child is pure," he added. "It's not my responsibility to be protecting their child."
CNN asked Wolfson if he could live with himself if his unvaccinated child got another child gravely ill.
"I could live with myself easily," he said. "It's an unfortunate thing that people die, but people die. I'm not going to put my child at risk to save another child."
He blamed the Jacks family for taking Maggie to the clinic for care.
"If a child is so vulnerable like that, they shouldn't be going out into society," he said.
And then, there is the story of an extremist group so despicable, they broadcast videos glorifying the executions of aid workers, journalists, photographers, civilians, and soldiers. I refuse to view or perpetuate their propaganda (hence, no links to the reports), but who can read a story of this army burning an "enemy" pilot alive without despairing for the future of this planet and its inhabitants?
Sadly, I'm beginning to suspect that there are many people who can hear about cruelties on a small or grand scale without missing a beat. Not to mention the architects who draft plans for such atrocities. Or the foot soldiers who carry out the acts.
Could not one soldier step forward and say, "This is wrong. Let's not do this"? Nobody was willing to insist, "I will not participate in this, and I will not permit this to happen"?
Who knows? Maybe the published video was the third take, and the first two tries had to be aborted because someone (or multiple someones) refused to perpetrate horror on a fellow human being.
Or, perhaps, these fighters are so blinded by hate or religious fervor or insanity or who-knows-what that they truly believe that they occupy the moral high ground.
And what about those of us who watch the videos (or don't watch) and do nothing? Are we good? Are we bad? Are we indifferent? And, yet, what can be done? Is the answer more violence? More war? More humanitarian aid?
If the old adage is true and there really is nothing new under the sun, then it may be that the Internet just makes the best and worst of humanity more accessible to an international audience. My secret fear, though, is that we have not learned from history and that we will never learn from history.
All too often in recent days, I look at my precious, sweet, curious, loving children and silently worry that they, and their descendants, will become part of a human race that turns away from knowledge, revels in divisiveness, reacts with schadenfreude to the suffering of the vulnerable, and turns an indifferent cheek on injustice.
Are you familiar with action movie previews in which the disembodied voice-over artist (AKA Don La Fontaine) ominously intones, "In a world where..."??
As in, "In a world where gummy bears run out of gummy bear juice..."
Ok, I made that one up, but the voice-over narratives really do exist so just bear with me here while I try to (finally!) make my point.
Well, my inner voice-over artist says things like:
"In a world where communicable diseases can be easily contained or eradicated but ignorant fear mongers refuse to protect themselves and others..."
Or
"In a world where democratic governments unapologetically spy on citizens, persecute whistleblowers, and justify torture..."
Or
"In a world where fanatical armies broadcast videos of horrific murders to promote their vision of the ideal moral society..."
Or
"In a world where people shoot commercial airplanes full of civilians (including 80 children) out of the sky with surface-to-air missiles and no one ever faces prosecution..."
Or
"In a world where a man goes to jail for years for stealing a car but CEOs get bailouts and golden parachutes for cheating millions of customers..."
I could go on and on and on.
I suppose that, at the end of the day, the best I can do is try to do more good, do less bad, and be less indifferent. The best I can do is raise children who do the same.
Nevertheless, I'm thinking of becoming a prepper. I'm contemplating that backyard bunker.
I would like to think that my children are not picking up on my paranoia. Unfortunately, I have to admit the following events occurred under my very own roof yesterday:
I returned home from work to find Bean waiting for me at the door. Squirming with excitement, my six year old Bean asked me if I wanted to see the fort he built. Happily, I allowed myself to be dragged by the arm into our home office. What I found was a blanket draped over the armchair. Beneath the blanket were some snacks, a few stuffed friends, and the tiny plastic safe in which he keeps his treasures. The sign taped to the chair read "Panic Room". Beneath those unsettling words, I read the words "No Pearl" (except he used his sister's real name and not the pseudonym I use for blog purposes).
Trying to maintain a neutral expression, I asked Bean why his sister can't be in the panic room. His response?
"She can - on alternate Mondays".
Um, what? I didn't even know where to begin with this one but since I'm reasonably sure that I've never articulated the words "panic room" or "alternate Mondays" in earshot of any child, much less my own child, I'm choosing to blame Angry Driver.
Perhaps he has his own fears for the future of humanity.
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