Angels’ Cry
The eyes of the innocent open to observe the world.
We love, mainly ourselves.
We feel, nothing but what is expected.
We damn, not only others, but ourselves as well.
We act, but rarely do we know who we are.
We ask why, but then muddle the answer with our own expectations.
We live, in circles, and all too often in a world without touch.
We miss each other even though we are surrounded by life.
We are anti-socials, craving to be heard, and yet too deaf to hear the voice of others.
Scale back your perception, widen your gaze, and allow more than what you think you know. In a world blinded by digital representations of who we wish to present to the outside world, we long for someone to understand who we are. Someone to relate to what we are, who we were, and who we are trying to become.
We share ourselves with complete strangers, in as limited characters as we can… all while secretly longing for someone to talk to. Someone to connect with and participate in the creation of a memory. A history in digital form is one that can be erased. Are we the software of the future, or the virus bringing about our downfall? In a world of interconnectivity and information on demand, we have not only lost our connection with each other, but with ourselves as well.
Scale back.
The world’s view of peace is dependent on the ones holding the power; each power believing their peace is right and killing to protect it. We are the very definition of irony; and yet too blind to recognize it. The goal of self-preservation is capricious if we act only for ourselves. It has been stated that, “All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing”, so, if we are victims, it is by our own hand.
The world burns with unsatisfied emotion. The voices of seven billion people go unheard because no one is listening to what is being said.
Scale back.
The eyes of the innocent close to a world that has been observed; silent tears glimmer in the light as they fall.
The angels’ cry is not for herself, but for those who have been given the power to create life and seem to only be interested in condemning it.
Scale back.
Observe.
J.W. McNabb
================================================================================================
I wrote that quite a while back, and as I look around at the world today I feel it is more apt than ever. On a long enough timeline, the life expectancy of everyone drops to zero. If we were to put the fate of our world on a timeline representing our collective life expectancy, I believe we would have no other choice but to put ourselves towards the end of that timeline. We seem bound and determined to create as much chaos around us as possible. We see the wall, but instead of hitting the brakes and taking a moment to re-evaluate our current course, we instead hit the accelerator.
Missouri is tearing itself apart.
Iraq is in the middle of a civil war – genocide in the name of theocracy. ISIS and the caliphate becoming a new and daunting challenge.
Israel is fighting for it’s right to survive in a part of the world that only seems to want it to die.
Ebola outbreaks.
Massive, and frequent, earthquakes.
Super-storms.
Iran is going nuclear.
North Korea is going nuclear.
Japan is, once again, embracing militarization.
China is strategically positioning itself as a world power.
Russia has re-emerged as a force to be reckoned with.
America, and it’s voice on the world stage, is becoming less and less powerful.
Lines are being drawn. Political alliances are being tested, each one pointing the finger at the other.
It genuinely feels as if we are one incident away from tearing each other apart. Like a tinderbox that is simply waiting for a spark. What’s worse, is it also seems as if we just keep pouring more and more gasoline on the mix. Whatever the spark may be is going to pull all of us down.
Talking with people, it is clear that a vast majority feel it coming. Unfortunately, it is also clear that most people feel as if there is nothing that can be done to change things. Is it apathy? Hopelessness? Or have we, as a whole, accepted our fate?
One person, standing without fear, can inspire change. Edmund Burke is attributed with the quote above, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.” And, as I have stated – in not only the piece I wrote above but in other posts I have made in the past – if we are to become victims, it is by our own hand.
We need to open our eyes. Hit the brakes. Take personal responsibility for ourselves and our actions.
We may not have started the fire; but we can either watch it burn – or put it out. Either way, the course of the world is in our hands and we have no one else to blame for the outcome but ourselves.
Explicit Ambiguity 