Why is it we have it all, but we still are unhappy?
DEAR EDITOR:
The last 50 years taught me that the United States of America is no longer an “island,” protected by oceans and a couple of friendly neighbors to the north and south. In fact, no country on this globe, swirling around the sun every 24 hours, is an island.
We are all living on this globe together. Nx= boundaries, no walls, no fences and no weapons of any kind can protect us, or make us feel safe or happy. We, x===the humans, have made the changes that have brought us to where we are. Regardless of where we live in this universal habitat, fear, mistrust and uncertainty have become our greatest “threat.”
Fifty years ago, my only way to communicate with my family 10,000 miles away was by “airmail,” or, if urgent, by telegraph. Yes, I remember, the “onion skin” paper on which I wrote those letters, because both the paper and envelope had to be very light.
Today, I pick up the phone and immediately connect with anyone on this planet! We can see them on our iPhones with “face time” or on TV. We are all “neighbors.” It is the age of technology, of artificial intelligence meant to make our lives better and happier, but instead, globally, we feel insecure and threatened, by real or imagined “enemies,” even though some own the most lethal weapons that can destroy all of us on this planet, in a matter of hours.
This thought alone should render wars obsolete in the 21st century because there will be no winners.
Our global security could be achieved if the trillions spent on arms and armies are directed to build cities destroyed by wars or natural disasters, eradicate poverty and illiteracy, and to make all of us feel safe, living “together” in peace.
We may have a home, but our neighbor is homeless. We may have more food, but our neighbor is hungry, and in some cases, starving. We may be dressed up, but our neighbor is half-naked. We may be warm, but our neighbor is cold. We may travel in fancy cars or fly in airplanes, but our neighbor walks, often barefoot.
Until we change our values, economically, morally, emotionally and spiritually, and meet these basic needs of all of us and show more compassion, empathy and understanding, we will never feel safe or happy unless our neighbor feels safe and happy. But It can happen when we replace greed with the spirit of sharing, hate with love, fear with trust, prejudice with acceptance, and think of our planet as no longer made of “tribes,” but of humans, living closely together with equal needs and equal goals, all craving for peace, security and love.
RASHID ABDU, MD
Canfield