End of January 2019; a New Year begins carrying over the previous years’ sins and splits in societies around social, economic and environmental issues; but also conveying the optimism required for us to solve problems, survive and thrive in our planet, and perhaps one day, beyond it.

It seems though, that under globalization, human dignity is converting to an item of ‘a la cart’. As world famine, wars, and natural disasters are insistently increasing, individual sensibility to the causes and remedies for alleviating the suffering of the most vulnerable, is, at best, inadequate; and, at worst, it is becoming a sort of global cultural feature, a somewhat apathetic one to the plight of thousands of migrants, refugees, and destitute people. So, it comes to mind the concept of ‘togetherness’, triggering dormant thinking about what it means, and why it may be the source to our peace and prosperity.

Because ‘togetherness’ goes above showing solidarity or provide aid to the needy; it is more than just keeping company to one another in ‘sickness and in health’, in sadness and in joy; it’s something more than sharing the same religion, or political doctrine,  and more than being a member of the same cult, or club, or nation.  It encircles all of these, but it also contains the notion of working together towards common causes and objectives, the fulfillment of which would benefit us and the others who worked together with us and the wider people, both in the medium and in the longer term.

An absolute example is the preservation of our planet’s health, which we, humans, have taken for granted, allowing ourselves to believe its resources are inexhaustible. So, deliberately overlooking the signs of harm that human activities deliver to the environment, and exhibiting a propensity to follow short term vested interest, we are actually seeing a series of uncontrollable weather phases that breed destruction, suffering and hurdles against our endeavors for achievement.

Ok, now; you can say that states are putting more effort than ever before towards preservation; and, in the struggle, they create some networks of togetherness, that is, co-operations, transnational agreements, international institutions and webs of allies. But, no yet adequate measures are agreed or implemented world-wide, nor the planet’s survival is put over national and individual interests.

Solutions exist to face up and mitigate the galloping climate-change effects threatening our planet with irreversible damage. Optimistic or not, one has to consider the potentiality of future tragedies, much shoddier and painful than those we are witnessing in the last few years, – including hurricanes, floods, fires, landslides, dryness, and extremities in cold and hot weather, occurring all over the world and encroaching national frontiers.

It is hard but not unimaginable to see swarms of millions of people refuging because of climate change, adding to those millions already made refugees, from escaping wars, persecutions, racism or poverty; in reality, from discrimination. And, it struck me that we might all become extinct, perhaps pretty soon, if our egocentric ways of thinking is allowed to rein. Substituting logic with vested interests of different nations, groups, or business gurus and discarding or shovel under the carpet arguments about the long terms sustainability of life itself, is an assured recipe for devastating disasters.

Another example, triggered by Brexit, is the toxic debates we follow in the social media, newspapers, panels and political discussions, about going it alone; it appears cool to overlook what happened some seventy years ago, when nationalism and individual states’ appetite for power and control over others led to the shattering 2^nd WW. War was seen, and still is by some, as preferable to cooperation, compromising, and working together. We, humans, have not yet understood the value of ‘togetherness’ despite sharing the same planet and destiny.

So, my point is that

There seems to be little disagreement that climate change is a result of man-made changes in the environment, and that the environmental problems encroach upon national barriers; because there are global in nature. It means that the response to these problems ought to be global in nature too, and this can be achieved by implementing ‘togetherness’.

Brexit on the other hand, seems to become painful for both the UK and the EU. But the latter is a Union of 26 Member States, a major power, able to face national and global adversities, because its workings are based on a legally binding ‘togetherness’. And, I don’t believe that, till now, the UK has been losing for being an EU member state.

Well, I am not a politician and I don’t wear the hat of a reporter, officially or unofficially. It’s just that as a simple citizen in the western world I wonder loud.

Shouldn’t we look at the history, old and recent, to measure how ‘togetherness’ has worked in different civilizations, even if, sometimes, is brutally imposed upon its people? The Roman Empire comes easily to mind, though a colony of ants wouldn’t be a bad example to see!

Then, for our earth and societies that we continue to split and exploit ruthlessly, shouldn’t our world powers, small and large, come together and work together towards the long-term survivability of our worlds?

So, I’d pray; and for the shake of future generations, I’d say,

Bless us Father;

Because we continue to sin; we are egotists, thinking we are superior, or better, or more deserving than our neighbors, but also more than those further on from us; because we believe that the planet earth is our game to do with what we want, because we forget the concept of ‘togetherness’ when in fact we ARE TOGETHER on this earth and we sow and share both the fruits of Your earthly gifts and our deleterious produces.

Bless us Father,

For, we have a Wish, a Want, a Dream, like Martin Luther King had one once, that soon enough our nations will rise up to the world’s challenges, fostering  close cooperation under a mutually agreed umbrella of freedom and peace; deliberating towards our common survivability. And, what it may seem loss in power, control and economic mighty of some, is gains in ‘togetherness’ to all, (which is) the ingredient underlining safety, development and human contentment.

Bless us Father,

For, we too, all humans together, have a Dream. Bless us to make it work.

 

1. The scope of the above succinct summary of the state of our world, as people perceive it to be today, is to highlight the concept of ‘togetherness’. It is my belief that working together towards common goals like environmental sustainability, and cooperation for overall peace and prosperity, is the best way to find solutions to our global problems.