What Can I Say?

 Hello Everyone, I know it's been a very long time since I last wrote to you, but I hope you've all been as well as possible. As for why I haven't been here. Well, that's a long story. It's been a time of upheaval at chez Turner, not to mention, a fair bit of travelling but neither of them is the real reason for my absence. Recently, every time I have thought about writing a new post, it just seemed to be the 'wrong' time. I think, regardless of political affiliations, we can agree, the world is just not a safe place. Even things we had long taken for granted seem to be far less certain than we had probably ever thought possible. There are so many divisions being formed in our society, that I had hoped were consigned to the past, but it would seem there are those, who are keen to keep them alive.

War has become the 'go-to' for far too many nations, there's talk of the 'nuclear threat' which everyone knows, is never a productive stance and achieves nothing more than the loud clattering of imagined sabre-rattling by immature, insecure men. There are leaders who have decided that they have the 'right' to bomb other countries for no other reason than there's an alleged group within its borders that may want to wreak havoc. How easy it has become to justify mass killing and, I would argue, how many of those killed or maimed are terrorists? How many were actually families with children who just wanted to get on with living their lives in peace? Bombs don't discriminate between the innocent and the guilty, yet certain leaders have no problem blithely ignoring this fact in the pursuit of what they call 'justice.'

Then there are those divisions I mentioned earlier, be it race, gender, sexual identity or political ideology- these have re-emerged as the 'us and them' argument which, when you really think about it, is nothing less than nonsensical. Regardless of any apparent 'differences', we are all human beings with emotions, dreams, goals and the potential to achieve wonderful things. How can it be so easy for people to forget this basic truth? How easy it has become to launch into the baseless argument of 'they are not like us'- who exactly are they? Because unless I'm very much mistaken, there is no other humanoid race currently living on Earth. But still there are some who will insist there are people who should either be feared or somehow contained because they pose some kind of unspecified threat. Now, we all know, this notion springs from fear or ignorance but yet it seems to be gaining ground in far too many societies that frankly should know better. As an example, the totally misguided nonsense that suggests homosexuality is somehow contagious and so we must 'protect' our children. So, their books can only include straight relationships and those that don't must be immediately banned because 'who knows what influence this might have?' It's a ridiculous argument as it completely ignores fundamental truths such as, for example, every Disney animated movie has a heterosexual couple at its heart, yet gay people still exist, so are we to assume they are somehow immune to the 'straightness', is that the explanation?

It's spending these last few weeks observing all the chaos, the ignorance and the horrors that are casually launched into the world that did leave me wondering what was left for me to say here. I scanned social media for some kind of inspiration and yet there was more discord, some of which the direct result of who happens to own the various platforms. Sites littered with blatant lies, hate-filled posts against almost any group being allowed and, I would suggest, actively encouraged. How has it happened that certain people can express openly Nazi-inspired views and go unchecked? But it's there, for all to see.

If I sound demoralised, I am because I have always tried- even in the worst of times- to find hope but it's becoming increasingly difficult. I am no saint but if I have any qualities at all, it's the fact I believe, everyone should be able to live in peace, to have equal rights and for all forms discrimination to be consigned to the history books. Yet having these ideals doesn't seem to 'fit' anymore with how world is going, now we all have to choose a side, the notion of 'if you're not with us, you're against us' has taken hold. Well, I'm here to state for the record, I will never take any side that promotes hatred especially the one which believes it's always right.

Finally, our planet is a beautiful place, filled with breathtaking places and populated by a staggering array of plants, animals etc. As humans, we have the capacity to maintain every part of the world while celebrating the unique diversity of our race. Surely that would be a better way to live than this current existence fraught with fear and uncertainty. Helping each other live and fulfill potential has to be better, don't you think?

Anyway, that's probably more than enough from me, so I'll leave you with my usual wish, that you all remain safe and well....

Take very good care out there xx