As I sit here and type this post I’m dumbstruck, once again, by how our world leaders seem to forever hold humanity hostage. They perpetually thwart lasting peace and true human evolution with war, conflict, and savagery of all kinds and varieties. Leaders’ actions rarely reflect the will of the people who they’re leading.
Roxanne Luxemburg's quote, “Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.” is true. I didn’t fully realize the extent of this until I started traveling the world and became involved in the crypto/blockchain community.
As I’ve interacted with people across various cultures I’ve realized we’re infinitely more alike than we are different. Most of us just want to have our basic needs met, the chance to build a life unhindered, and the freedom to pursue our own definitions of happiness.
Technological evolution is shrinking our world a little more each day. People across the globe can now communicate directly with each other, circumventing the distorting lens of mainstream media propaganda. The days when the general public will be able to be fooled into supporting such atrocities as this Ukrainian invasion are rapidly coming to a close.
Even though I am a student of history I don’t begin to admit I know or even understand all the nuances of our current geopolitical situation. What I do know a few things about is human nature.
The truth is positions of great power attract sociopaths like a porch light attracts moths in the depths of darkness. For us all to truly progress beyond the point of being merely simians with a thermonuclear weapons a few things need to change. First we need to, somehow, build safeguards against people with sociopathic tendencies being elected into positions of power. Until we can find a way to figure this out humanity itself is, and will continue to be, at great risk.
"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -Albert Einstein
Military aggression such as this seems archaic in today’s world. It's an irresponsible roll of the dice that could end extremely badly for everyone. We should be beyond this yet we see it being played out again and again, all across the globe. The news headlines these past few days remind me of a classic Sting song from the 1980’s:
This song seems particularly fitting today but just isn't reserved for the Russians. The more things change, the more they stay the same, I guess.
Today, and in the days to follow, I offer my prayers to the people of Ukraine and for us all. We can do so much better than this. I hope our civilization survives until a more enlightened generation can take the reins.
--
-Eric
(Gif sourced from Giphy.com.)
Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
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It's sad what is happening in Ukraine. My prayers are with them.
I pray we don't put leaders as such to power again, who'd opt for a fist instead of a feast.
It's been heartbreaking to watch these past few days.
I just feel like this is Putin's Swan Song.
Somehow he equates power with success, which is Russia from yesteryear. They should never have given him the reigns back. With the shrinking of our world in terms of being out of reach of one another, I don't see why we can't entice the hand of peace. If you talk to an Russian on the streets, it is love not war they are all looking for.
God help Ukraine. They are in my thoughts and prayers.
I feel the same way @dswigle. Putin has been in isolation for months, according to reports, and I think this has diminished his decision-making skills. He's underestimated the situation in a lot of different ways. It will be him against the world.
Especially with social media and with being able to reach out and touch people across the world so easily? They are not in agreeance with this his way of thinking. He is still living in yesterday, where there is no democracy and he rules with an iron fist.
Who thinks that way now? Not the people. They are no longer driven by the fear that was put into them. The forcible seizure of something meaningful to them as an act of retaliation. Hateful behavior.
Absolutely! Literally everyone is against him at this point. His own people, the rest of the world, even China is backing away from it. So very sad.
The war should end and the two countries should make concessions for the sake of peace. Compromise can save innocent people. Start a poem of courage
really now situation is very critical and heartbreaking. May they will save. and thier issueswill resolved smoothly
I agree, we should really be past all of this by now. You would think years of history would clearly show us the path that needs to be taken. I really hope all of this can get resolved fairly quickly with as little disruption to the people as possible. Something that creates a lasting peace.
Years of history show that humanity/mankind is stuck in some kind of loophole. The history repeats itself.
Seeing the events of our history, a lasting peace on Earth sounds like a fairy tale, but let us hope that one day a lasting peace will arrive.
We do seem to be caught in a loop. I like to believe this will change when the younger generation takes over but am of the belief that maybe the positions of power are actually what eventually corrupts.
The need for these leaders to feed their egos is so strong. I feel like technology (A.I. and blockchain) may play a huge role in us solving this problem.
Lets just keep trying our best to keep praying for the residents of beautiful Ukraine
Hello dear friend @ericvancewalton good afternoon
It is very sad what is happening, the rulers are not interested in what the people want or think, they always do things for interests; Today more than ever we must be united proclaiming peace; It's not much that people want
Hello @jlufer, I hope you've been well! Yes, it's been a tragic past few days. It's so strange to watch it all unfold in real time on television. I can't watch it very long.
History repeats itself. When humanity/mankind will learn? Some people say "never". Hopefully we will, before it would be too late.
I totally agree.
I pray for safety for the citizens of Ukraine. War or conflict is the last thing we need right now.
Come to think of it Zenith St. Petersburg played draw with Real Betis in the Europa league this night. Football has brought love.
Putin should embrace peace.
Note: Real betis is a Spanish club
Cheers!
An old minded leader has been undoing his country, his neighbouring countries as well as the world. Both Ukranie and Russia are our neighbour and we are being affected as well. There will be no winner of this war or any war yet to start.
I totally agree.
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Russia invades Ukraine. The human tragedy has already begun. There is nothing left of a war but cruelty. It's an unequal war. I hope that other countries can stop Russia from ending its attack on Ukraine. .if not possible from Ukraine the third world war will start.
Let's all pray for peace and stability. I just can't believe humanity can't learn this one simple lesson.
I am from Russia and the aggravations at the border have been going on for a very long time. It had to happen anyway. I am against the war, BUT NOBODY ASKED US.
It's sad one person or maybe a group closely associated with the one person can create so much problem for the rest of the world.
The people of Ukraine are being used by many world leaders. The opportunities for money laundering there are most robust when the country is destabilized. Putin is protecting people of Russian descent, as he has been asked to do. And not for the first time. I will not be quick to place the blame on Russia, when the US has amply demonstrated, time and again, that it happily destabilizes non-NATO countries for profit.
The similarities between this and the supposed annexation of Crimea in 2014 (the year Hunter Biden was doing his dirty in that very same country) are too great to ignore. Just after the Olympics, Biden involvement, a deliberately destabilized Ukraine, and Russians especially being harmed by anti-Russian sentiment.
Then there is this. https://peakd.com/hive-122315/@atma.love/u-s-biolabs-in-ukraine
We MUST consider that Putin might indeed have good reason to oppose the US. WHICH HAS NO LEGITIMATE BUSINESS TO BE IN UKRAINE.
Then there is the very real possibility that those are US bombs, not Russian.
Do not believe what you are told on western media, any source. It is nearly all lies and has been for a very long time.
The problem with the world today is there's so much disinformation that it's very difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. There are so many layers to every news story. I used to like to say "the truth will eventually reveal itself in time" but that isn't always the case these days. My intention with this article wasn't to delve into the political nuances as much as it was to voice my opinion about how unfortunate it is that normal, everyday, people have to get caught up in and suffer from the megalomaniacal actions of their leaders. The US (or any major world power) doesn't have a clean conscience when it comes to their actions across the globe. I hope this will someday change, although I doubt it'll be in our lifetime. I have friends over there and it's been heartbreaking to get first-hand accounts of what's going on. All they want to do is live their lives.
Yes that is what I heard you say.
I'm on a mission to try to point out that the story we are being fed was too quick to take shape, and far too simple to actually be true. The real story will eventually come out, but this one will have solidified so that few will even consider any subsequent truth that is revealed about it. Just like 9/11. Just like covid. You'd think by now we would not believe a word we are told on MSM, especially when they all agree as they are now. Every time we need to be distracted, suddenly we are told the Russians are coming. I do not believe Putin would "invade" (similar inappropriate verbiage, just like "insurrection") Ukraine without provocation. The provocation has been left out of the story we are being fed.
People are fleeing, losing their homes, and dying.
That reminder to question everything has NEVER been more important than today!
The whole situation is very sad and to think that the only solution Putin saw was an invasion is such a scary thing.
Sometimes, I think the only thing people should do is to make sure they are in a place where their lives are not dependent on their leaders.
The videos I have been seeing recently are really heartbreaking
Did you see the speech the president of Kenya gave about this? At the UN I believe. It was well done, your post reminded me of it. Here it is, worth a watch :)
https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdALaR8s/
Thanks for the link! I haven't seen this but it does echo what I was trying to say. It's been so hard to watch the Ukrainian people fight so valiantly knowing what the eventual outcome will be. I haven't been about to stop thinking about what precedent this is setting for future tyrants who are in possession of nuclear weapons.