I don’t need to tell any of you about recent events. Everybody else and their grandmother already have, and with the age of the internet there’s no shortage of hatred, vitriol or paranoia that makes you think that the digital aftermath is so much worse than the actual events themselves.
But you know something? It’s times like these that make you sigh in complete exasperation and say,
“To hell with it. All of it. All of the madness, the hate, the ignorance, the resulting bloodshed; all of it. I’m done with everyone and everything here, and you can keep all that nonsense I once held dear with you.
“Keep your nationalism and its watered-down by-product, patriotism. Keep your religion and your faith and all that other superstitious drek. Keep your silly ideals and revolutionary banter on those banners in your closet. Keep your theories and your opinions-they’re all worthless in the long run, anyway. Once you’ve hoarded it all away from the greater populace, bury it under nuclear waste and use the rest as fertilizer so we can all start over again.”
Ever since I was a child I’d dreamed of just owning a plot of land-an island, country, continent or even planet-where my loved ones and I could just live out our existence away from all this madness, but experience has left me numb and very, very cynical; after all, we are human after all, so it’s only a matter of time before some other show begins, and the drama resumes.
I used to say this about Lebanon alone, but humanity as a whole is just one giant disappointment: a black hole of potential being perennially wasted. A steaming heap of filth where wealth and status are paramount while life is just another commodity. If people ask you-the misanthrope reading this who’s quietly nodding in agreement-why you lost your faith in everything and maintain that all hope is gone, simply thrust a history book that hasn’t been redacted or covered in glitter into their hands and have them spend the day reading it.
Is nowhere safe anymore? Maybe in a parallel universe, but for now that’s a question that everyone should be asking themselves.
One final note, it’s interesting how a former empire and one of its most prominent former colonies were both attacked in a similar fashion only hours apart, days after the 100th Armistice Day. I wonder if anyone else has stopped to consider the symbolism here.
Rest in Peace to everyone killed in Beirut, Paris, Iraq, Syria, Mexico, and every other pile of dirt plagued with conflict.
Bits and Pieces 