LETTER: Mankind on brink of self-destruction

Mankind watches in anguish and trepidation as a dramatic and virus infested, both digital and biological, 2021 comes to an end. A global disaster such as a full-scale nuclear conflict, a new pandemic in 2022 or a new generation of artificial intelligence could have grave consequences for the wellbeing of humanity in the years ahead.

Man’s quest for superiority has made this era of earth’s history the most perilous ever. This year was a brutal year for humanity. Covid-19 snatched the lives of 5.3-million people globally. We lost our loved ones under harrowing circumstances. Livelihoods were lost, economies were shattered, and poverty enveloped the world.

The weapons of war continued to dismember innocent civilians in an orgy of destruction that graphically displayed man’s savagery. This year saw the emergence of naked and brutal fascism in a blood-curling satanic ritual of hatred, turning differences into genocide. Political tensions reached fever pitch as powers large and small displayed their military fangs in an act of crude intimidation. The advent of powerful new weapons are on hair-trigger alert as humanity dances with death, and as leaders play political chess and military roulette.

Our fragile planet is in utter turmoil. Leaders are determined to cling to power at any cost. Famine, wars, poverty and deadly  climate change confront us daily on an epic scale. The world is facing a financial crisis of huge proportions as nations gear up for a total trade war. Political dominance is a perfect storm that has been brewing for centuries and which is about to explode in its full fury, affecting the lives of every person on earth.

Violence in the blood-soaked areas of the world  must come to an end. There is no greater danger to political thought than inertia. The world is never static, and certainly history is not.

The cycle of violence must come to an end. The belief that the only way to fight aggression is by applying more aggressive methods has led to the arms race between the great powers.

This competition to increase the weapons of war has only brought mankind to the very brink of self-destruction. If we do nothing about it, the next war will be the end of the world where there will be neither victors nor victims, only dead bodies.

The history of mankind is a continuous manifestation of man’s greed, hatred, pride, jealousy, selfishness and delusion. It is a recorded fact that during the past 3,000 years, men have fought 15,000 major wars.

Humanity should not pander to its aggressive, intrinsic attitude. The world cannot have peace until men and nations renounce selfish desires, give up political  arrogance, and eradicate crazy attitudes for possession and power.

Today, more than at any other time in history, peace seems remote and has become the most unattainable commodity in the world. Let us pray for sincere peace and tranquillity in 2022.

 Farouk Araie
Johannesburg

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