Truth, war, slavery and ignorance challenge humanity’s conscience

The world we live in today challenges us all to be wide-eyed, aware, questioning and skeptical. Wide-eyed, so we can distinguish truth from propaganda and lies. Aware of the presence of human evil, opportunistic predators and manipulators. We need to seek what matters to us: truth, equality, fair play, honesty, and the wisdom to know whom to forgive.

We are told that the elite knows best that specialists in every field inform those in power about what is correct, possible, and necessary. There is no need to investigate for ourselves or seek the truth about a situation, event or issue. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

Ignorance, when accepted willingly, is a horrid crime against humanity. To be ignorant because we simply lack knowledge, education or socialization is forgivable. To remain ignorant because of prejudice, hatred or political and social ideology is intolerable. Various sociopolitical and religious organizations may suggest that ignorance is bliss, but ignorance affects us all, directly or indirectly.

One person’s hatred is another’s love for nation, family, culture or religion.

We are told that peace is achievable only through military strength and a willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against our enemies before they strike us. When you welcome someone with a weapon in your hand, what can you expect but a calculated response in kind? A fist raised in anger or fear often provokes the same reaction.

Slavery can be presented as a conduit to freedom. In a religious context, a person who possesses nothing may experience what some describe as the freedom of poverty. If you have nothing, perhaps you will not aspire to acquire, hoard, steal, or possess. That is the hope, yet often not the reality.

When your rights and freedoms are taken away, you may find a temporary sense of acceptance or even peacefulness. That changes when you disagree with the government, organization, or despot who has taken what people naturally desire: personal and collective freedom.

The slogans of the day are often the same ones expressed long ago: ancient in nature, divisive and unforgiving. Accusations against one another do not build societies; too often, they tear them down.

My friend Mike Tripka’s expression is colourful, but exact and truthful. Slavery is intolerable, ignorance is destructive, and war has no place in a world of civilized peoples.

Yet, truthfully, we remain largely uncivilized while hoping to become something better. We are seekers of something we may not be prepared to experience. Truth can be unbearable, intolerable and temporarily destructive. Why would we want it, then?

Truth offers the possibility of freedom, but only if we are prepared to do the work and make sacrifices.

War, ignorance and slavery allow humanity to hide behind excuses and deny its responsibilities to itself. Until we confront those responsibilities, our pursuit of peace, equality and freedom remains incomplete.