Willard Parrot

"Peace on Earth and Goodwill Toward Men"

Linus Van Pelt said it in the Peanuts Christmas special, "... and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."  Today it should be revised to say "towards humankind." We hear it every year about this time. It's sad though we don't hear it as much during the other 11 months of the year. For all the globalism that's occurred during the last 500 years (since the Age of Discovery), we have not learned how to be better neighbors. It seemed okay to trample on people, their land, and their right to live when empires were building and growing. Now it seems, in some places, we are reverting back to nation-states. Borders have become more important instead of less. Racism is on the rise. Not in my backyard has grown to not in my country. Why can't we work towards peace, tolerance, love, friendship, understanding, and goodwill all the time?

As a side note, it is a little amusing when people complain about globalism. Explorers like Polo, Magellan, and Da Gama discovered other lands besides Europe and Asia hundreds of years ago. We can't go back. Humans are nomadic. Maybe we are at a tipping point. There are no more lands to claim, squander, and lay waste so now we turn on each other. Humans are pointing out the differences, the things that make us unique from each other. It is an 8th grader mentality. The bullies, for whatever reason, pick on those who are weak, meek, or just different. Nations are now bullies.

About two years ago, I had an interesting conversation with a conservative about racism and the state of the country. He thought the country had become more racist because the USA had an American with some African ancestry as President. According to him, the President had made the country more divided. Racists came out of the woodwork during those eight years because they feared change. During the last few years, they've become emboldened, vocal and violent. If the conservative's premise is true, what has the current President done since being elected to improve things? Not much. He attempted to ban whole ethnicities from entering the USA. He insulted those who live to the south. He attempted to accuse everyone with different political ideas as being unAmerican. And, if there is a news story that does not reflect well on him, he calls it fake. The Freedom of the Press is in the Constitution. It's part of the First Amendment. Our country would not exist without it. Yet, he called the press an enemy of the people. He is riding the wave of bigotry, racism, and nationalism which is sadly experiencing a resurgence around the world.

The US is not alone in this trend. A couple of the reasons for Brexit is Britain's fear they are losing their culture, and importance in the world. It is very ironic since, at one time, the sun never set on the British empire. They helped make the bed they now complain about.

The Middle East has been in some kind of battle or war for hundreds of years over religion, land rights, and ethnic differences. If someone in the US talks about the Palestinians deserving human rights, they are labeled anti-Semitic.

The examples are numerous. I don't know enough about them to comment, except to say millions of people believe in the Bible, or the Quran, or the Tanach. Each text preaches peace and loving thy neighbor. If so many are so faithful and resolute, why don't they practice what is preached? To reserve just a few days each year, no matter the religion, to teach peace and goodwill seems like a lot of time wasted.

It seems peace and goodwill are diminishing. As the world gets metaphorically smaller, we are becoming less human.