Divided we die, United we stand.

 

Divided we die, United we stand.

A long time ago I learned the saying, “United we stand Divided we fall.” It’s a true statement. Human beings are separate from each other, yet completely dependent on each other. The whole world of humans is built with all parts related, independent, yet needed for the survival of the whole mechanism that produces and sustains what we call life. The living things exist in a conflict between competition and co-operation, neither able to exist without the other.

I am writing these words a few days before the USA presidential elections. By the time you read it, the world will change to some degree. The people of the US care very little about what Canadians think, but we care a lot about the direction that the big neighbour will take. It has great consequences for us. I feel like a child listening to his parents shouting at each other about having a divorce. Like that child, I try to think about what I should have done to prevent it, knowing that I could not do a thing.

I remember a story of a survivor whose entire village was exterminated in a war. He could not forget the cries of a little girl crying, “tell them to stop mom, I will be a good girl.”

People don’t want to know what’s going on, finding it depressing. I understand. Reality is what the mind conjures from signals that enter it through the senses. However, there is no way to ignore that which everyone agrees is reality.  

The only superpower left in the world is controlling the destiny of men and women. The empire is in crisis and its direction is being set by a process called democratic elections. It is a faulty process, but it is what it is, and I don’t even have a vote.

A few days ago I saw a video clip. In it was a parade of golf carts showing support for a political ideology. People advocate that stream or political party, thinking it is for fiscal responsibility and moral values. One of the golf carts moves closer to the camera and an old man shouts, “white power” pumping his fist as he went on. Later, the president retweeted that video. It is clear what they are truly all about. I am “white” and I am ashamed. A few years ago, I was actively campaigning for that political movement. Sadly, they changed.

I sit here in a tiny mountain town in Alberta, contemplating what my world became and how it may develop. Those whom I admired, people who built vast enterprises, companies that provided jobs and needed services, lost their luster. One of them became the president, building his political power empire on hate and selfishness and fake financial prowess. Some of my friends don’t look and don’t see, but I do.

I like to think I am safe here, one hour drive from the restless sleeping giant, but I know I am not. In a week or a month from now, our neighbouring country could be engulfed in a civil war. It will not be a fight between disadvantaged black people and white folks, it will be between the haves and have nots. When people fight, they lose their rational thinking ability and only fight to win. Soon after they fight for fallen comrades, food, and water. When I heard the president say to his volunteer militia “stand back and stand by” I felt as if I fell into an icy lake. Fear. The stories of the second world war survivors who lived the “brown shirts” takeover in Germany come back.

The hate and inconsideration popularized in the last four years now is evident all over the world. Dictatorial regimes are flexing their muscles and the people are forced into a rebellious mode. There are hot spots everywhere and the weapons manufacturers’ stocks are going through the roof. It is not the world I lived in for most of my life. It is a dangerous minefield. Now politicians are creating reasons for people to hate each other and say that they are the only ones who can restore order.

Another possibility comes to mind. If the most critical election ever failed to bring about change, we will have more of the same. Years of work by scientists, social experts, and environmentalists will be reversed and protections of consumers, working people, animals, and water will be removed.

In my little world, the paradise I enjoy can easily be destroyed. Here is a probable scenario. Destroy the public health care in Canada, (a move favourable to the insurance companies next door,) and remove our excellent example from the sight of our neighbours. Next, increase the size of servings in our foreign-owned fast-food franchise outlets and increase their marketing budgets. In a few years, the Canadians who knew social healthcare will be gone mostly from overweight problems and voila. We can be replaced with workers who do not demand what we have here today and the rich Canadian resources will be traded on the commodities markets without consideration for us the workers who produce the wealth.

To me, there is a need for balance or there will be chaos. Yet the world of humans has been going on for a very long time. Everything is competing with everything else, forming relationships, and overall improving. We don’t win gold medals without training hard first.

What is important is where do we wish to end up and taking the first step towards it. The road will be long and there will be ups and downs. I ask God, What is tomorrow going to be like, and he answers: it depends upon what you do today.

So… whatever comes today, I try to find others who aim for what is good and stand united with them. I watch those who want all for themselves and see them falling. United we stand, divided we fall.