The Value of Death

Greetings!

As mentioned earlier, I am not an idealist. I don't believe in the perfect situation. I am fully aware, that what seems to me as the perfect situation will be hated by many others.

This post may seem to many as the ravings of a delusional idealist. I just hope that some people might read this and then open their eyes to the world. See what is going on, not only in their own home but around them. And not just around them, around us. There is more to the world than I. There is You and We and They and He and She and It. And none of these are less important than the I.

Recently, I have been speaking to a lot of people about my ideas, hopes and dreams. I get very mixed replies, ranging from: "Good idea" to "Fantastic!" to "There's no use"

Now, some of these replies surprise me, not because I expect everyone to be enthusiastic, but because it shames me to see how apathetic my generation is.

A common response is: "I live my life to the best of my abilities, I try and do the best for me and my surroundings. I don't think much about the rest."

Why not though? Why do we find it so hard to think of other people, people who we are not involved with in any way?

The world is quick to turn a blind eye, until we are the ones struck. As long as there are other people, unknown people far away, dying, no one cares. The only people the world really seems to care about, are those that are already dead.

While people are alive and being murdered, the most people will do is say, "Oh, how terrible!" and then continue doing what they were doing.

However, after the damage is irreparable, we cry and complain for decades.

Today, more than 60 years after the Second World War(1939-1945), we still go to marches and memorials and shout, "Never Forget!" and "Never Again!" and swear that such atrocities will never again occur.

Today, we hear the story of the Rwandan Genocide(1994), and gasp at its terror. Tears come to our eyes when we hear how the rest of the world did nothing to attempt to stop it.

Even today, we are taught to remember the victims and to never again allow something like this.

At the time, no one cared.

Hitlers victims were ignored until the Allies feared that they were in danger.

It's not Chamberlains policy of appeasement that I want to criticise, it's always easy to use hindsight as a basis of criticism. I don't even want to criticise the population at the time, who were apathetic until their world seemed affected. I don't want to criticise anybody, I just hope that we don't repeat histories mistakes.

The pleas of the Tutsi, whose children were slaughtered in order to wipe out the next generation, were ignored. Why? Because Rwanda was of no economic value. Who cared that over 800,000 people were killed in 3 months? No-one.As long as they only killed each other, who cared that the population of a poor African country was reduced by about 20%?

Today, who cares that Tibetans are being ruthlessly murdered? No one.

How many people even know about it? Far too few.

Once again, an economic superpower is devastating a tiny state of no economic importance. And once again, the world looks away.

What use is it, to say Never Again if we don't mean it?

What I say, seems to many like a criticism of capitalism. It isn't. There is little that I have to complain about capitalism. It isn't the capitalist politicians that we all love to complain about that are to blame. We are.

One of the things I love about capitalism, is the democracy it brings with it.

What people don't seem to realise is that all the time we spend complaining about politics, is time wasted. Politics and politicians will never change. However, we have the power to control it.

What most of us forget, is that politicians can only do whatever they want, while we ignore them. We are the voters, if we don't like what politicians are doing, we need to say something.

I want to draw the attention of the reader to the 1960s, for a moment. A whole nation rising to its feet, to protest a war. A whole nation of voters making it clear that they disagreed with the politics of their leaders.

And although it took its time, they were successful. With the realisation that they were losing voters, the Americans began to retreat. The peace revolts may not have been the sole reason for the end of the war, but they were an important factor.**

It seems to me, that the value of life in todays world, is far lower than the value of the dead.

This needs to change.

Politicians need to wake up and see what they are doing.

WE need to wake up and realise that we need to make the difference, we are the difference.

Todays Task:

• Find out more about Tibet.
• Find out more about another country or people who are being unjustly treated.
• Tell your friends and family about the above.
• Try, and make a difference. Influence the politics in your own country, state, town or quarter. Every little thing counts.
• Pass on this blog. Show it to your family, your friends, your co-workers and your boss.

Love,

Amber

**I would like to add that in my opinion there is never only one factor resulting in the beginning or end of a war. But many contributing ones.