Weeping our way to war?

The dilemma facing the world is moral values versus the success of brutality. Nothing new there. But new is the speed with which we can send our riposts and the horror our physical response can inflict. For the peace loving it is tempting to say we must ditch values to compromise the effect of brutality. A simple enough concept if ‘values’ are only an option for being a human. But they aren't, and have not been for a long time. They are the foundation of humans. ‘More than animals’ must behave better than animals. We know what that means. Are we to ditch it for our species in exchange for short-term peace?

We did once before in my lifetime, in 1939. Pacification led to the Holocaust and to a further estimated 70-85 million deaths. I knew some of those who died. I knew many more who lost loved ones, parents, carers. I pray there will never be another war. But I also pray that humankind may be a noble creature. Not perfect - that would be very boring - but with some principles that mean more than life itself. The greatest gift humans can give is to lay down their lives for their friends. Who do we count as our friends today?

My friend is anyone who strives for values better than mine. The climatic and existential threats today demand more cooperation than competition, more kindness than kinkiness, more care than consumption. Those are demanding masters. Humans can be disciplined enough to meet them. The triumph of any generation should be the next generation, not oblivion.

Values are not whittled away by a tsunami but drip by drip from a leaking tap. One step back is harmless, two are surrender. It’s not our homes, our jobs or even our bodies that we lose. It’s our souls, that mysterious but beautiful thing we call our humanity. Lose that and we lose everything we have had created for us and have created ourselves.

We didn’t create our physical being, nor our brain. Those who came before us helped create humanity. We continue to create it. It is more valuable than Fort Knox, more sensitive than a beautiful rose, more precious than the perfect pitch of Chloe Chua’s violin playing.

I am patriotic to a fault but my patriotism is not for one country, province or town. It is for humanity. Should we fight for our values??

I know my answer but I don’t know yours. I’d like to.

Whatever it is, I hope that in 100 or 1,000 years time they will say “Rum crowd they were in those days with their WhatsApp messages and rockets to Mars but they helped to build a kinder, stronger, more thoughtful humanity. Well done them.”

Would that be good for you, too?

Good morning

John Bittleston

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