Will Humanity Ever Learn?
By: Jon Peters
Tags: People, Life, Humanity, Self Improvement, Life Lessons

Will Humanity Ever Learn?

Actions speak louder than words — or so they say.

Photo by Elijah O’Donnell on Unsplash

We’ve all heard the old saying: “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The quote has been attributed to a number of different sources over the years — most notably Albert Einstein. Regardless of its origin, it refers to the idea that if you repeat the same action, you will never get different results. But does the same logic apply to the concept of inaction?

I don’t really watch the news anymore. Not because I want to remain ignorant of current events, but because I’m fed up with hearing about the horrifying things that are happening all over the world. I can’t remember the last time I opened a newspaper and was greeted by something positive. Can you?

A Monument To Hypocrisy — But Who Gives A Dame?

In April, the world watched as Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral burned.

A nation mourned, but within days the French elite had heard the call and answered by pledging hundreds of millions of dollars to restore the landmark to its former glory.

This week, the world watches as the Amazon rainforest burns.

Despite the fact that we lose an area of rainforest the size of a football pitch every day, despite the research showing the important role the rainforest plays in combating climate change, I don’t hear anyone pledging millions to prevent further destruction. I don’t hear anything.

Anything except the flickering of the flames.

Mass Shootings & Empty Promises

Three weeks ago, the US was a victim of two deadly mass-shootings within 24 hours. Nine people were killed in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio, while another twenty-two were killed in El Paso, Texas.

Did you know, that there were 216 days between January 1st and August 5th, 2019? And in that time there have been 255 mass shootings recorded in the United States, resulting in almost 9,000 deaths? An average of more than one mass shooting incident and around 45 deaths per day so far this year.

In the first week or so afterward, you couldn’t read anything online without seeing some mention of necessary reforms to gun control. Medium itself was inundated with posts discussing the need for background checks for gun purchases, or calls for a ban on the selling of automatic rifles. Unless of course, you have feral hogs to contend with on a daily basis.

But in the few weeks since? Nothing.

Tragedies strike and nations will mourn. Politicians make empty promises and cast blame elsewhere. After all, it’s clearly an issue of mental illness, isn’t that right Mr. Trump? It has nothing to do with the fact that in most US states you’re legally able to buy an assault rifle before you can buy a beer.

And once the families have buried their loved ones, and the echoes of gunfire have faded, the world will forget once again.

I’m not saying that everyone will forget what happened. The families of those that were killed will never forget the tragedy that took their loved ones away.

But the people who have a voice in the world, the leaders, politicians, people with the power to invoke change? They will forget. They will bury their heads in the sand. Until next time.

An Uncertain Future

In my first article on Medium, I discuss my thoughts around the morality of bringing children into the world. I typed those words with a heavy heart, as a father of two children who have brought immeasurable joy into my life. But the joy they have given me has come at a cost. And I have repaid them by bringing them into a world full of uncertainty, hatred, and destruction. Climate change and overpopulation are the primary issues I discuss in that piece, but you know as well as I do that the list goes on and on.

I worry about the world my children will grow up in. Not because I think there is no hope for the planet, I know there is. But we’re not doing anything about it. Or at least, we’re not doing anything that truly makes a difference.

Our world is plagued with problems. We have the power to do something about them if only the people that lead us were to do something more than cast blame and make false promises. The problems we face extend far beyond forest fires and mass shootings.

They say that actions speak louder than words.

But I believe inaction speaks loudest of all.