I am tired.
Tired of war.
Tired of anger.
Tired of death.
Tired of lives lost.
Tired of hope destroyed.
Tired of unnecessary grief.
Tired of the destruction of well-being.
Tired of forced migration.
Tired of tears.
Tired of children living in tents, denied the childhood they deserve.
I am tired of the political excuses offered for war
I am tired of racial hatred.
I am tired of human lust for power wrapped up in theocracy.
I am tired of talk of defence that excuses aggression.
I am tired of biased reporting
I am tired of being told that people who have died on one side of a dispute are lives lost and that on the other, they are just killed.
I am tired of a failure to recognise that any life lost unnecessarily is just that: it is a life lost unnecessarily.
I am tired of the belief that war will ever solve anything.
I am tired of the assumption that after war everything will go back to normal.
I am tired of the cost of conflict always being borne by anyone but those who started it.
I am tired of those who think we don't have a duty of care to everyone, whoever they are, wherever they come from, whatever they believe, whatever their skin colour, whatever their gender, whatever their age.
I am tired of those who think that others don't matter.
Most of all, I am tired of those who destroy hope,
I live in hope.
Hope of a better day.
Hope of a better life for everyone.
Hope that I might live to see that.
Hope that everyone might then share hope.
Is that too much to hope for?
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“To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing.” – Raymond Williams.
[…] I read this and then wrote my piece about being tired of war. […]
Thanks Richard for the post.
Unfortunately, according to me you (me including) are asking for too much because US / West has to practice politics of care by treating countries as equals and work for everyone living on the planet to realize the hope for a better day.
US / West cannot preach values and not follow them ….bombing Iran (and Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan etc.) and endorsing genocide is not rule of law.
Having said that. I live in hope.
‘Is that too much to hope for?’
No, it’s not. But, sadly, it is too much hope for from the likes of the Tangerine Toddler, Netanyahu, Fartrage et al.
Craig
I am tired of good people like you and others offering a way out of the mess this country, Europe and other countries are in and beeing ignored. Whilst people are listerning to the likes of Farage who has no interest in the care of others just himself and a few chosen other who will benefit from this is monetary terms.
I am tired of being told that at a shade short of 80 that i and others of my generation are to blame for everything that’s happening now?
I’m tired of being told that 14 plus years of austerity are the only way forward.
I’m tired of hearing about all the financial problems of the water companies as they struggles to pay their CEO and others bonuses. For what, being on the pay role.
I tired of paying council tax for poor services whilst inept councils wasted money on property that they have never realised and financial gain from for their rate payers.
I’m tired of hearing that the City is our saviour and must be protected at the expense of the working people of the UK.
I’m tire of being tired all the time
Agreed, most especially to your last point. But so much else as well.
History is littered with cruelty and injustice. And people have always struggled to gain equality and basic rights. I’m afraid that is the way it will always be.
But at least people keep trying and keep fighting.
Therein lies hope.
I have learned a lot from your web page and videos about economics.
I thank you for that.
Thanks
I look for any signs of a positive to take from this. The only one that emerges is the attitude of the majority of the UK public, who, according to several polls, do not want any part in Trump’s military adventures.
So much so, that the former hawks in this land have changed their tune and are adopting a stance more in line with public opinion. They are doubtless doing this out of self- interest and might not have changed their original hawkish views, but saw no profit in it.
Too much to expect in the near term but never too much to hope for!
The only time I feel LESS tired, is when I am engaging with others to make a difference or hearing how they have made a difference.
This week has been very grim both personally and globally, but this afternoon I have the joy of redistributing £1,000, paid to me in compensation, by three organisations (a council, a water company, and an insurance giant) to three local charitable organisations that deal with the consequences of their behaviour.
If you have the time, patience and digital skills required to patiently, persistently, and obstinately complain about bad behaviour, do so. It can be very (literally) rewarding, and the third sector needs all the help it can get, while we get on with effecting systemic change, fomenting a peaceful but VERY disruptive “REVOLUTION of care”.
Robert
Thank you for your post.
Thank you for your generosity.
Thank you for caring.
Richard
We’ve trashing this planet so I reckon Richard try and get a seat on the first rocket to Mars. But of course no sooner have you arrived than there will be a load of indigenous Martians with placards saying..NO IMMIGRANTS FROM EARTH..GO HOME !
Just trying to cheer you up..sorta…
Thank you so much for this post.
Today is a low day during a bad patch and it brought tears to my eyes.
Some days it is hard having hope but it is good to know you are not alone.
Thanks to the other contributors, especially Sean.
You write this and then a few hours later you are reporting the FT Afternoon newsletter.
We need hope despite Wall Street and the City.
Thanks again Richard
Go well, Ian.
I ran across this interesting video a while ago. Maybe y’all will find it interesting, too.
https://youtu.be/3gPhzTkh3F0?si=T4G7fvYuc7Y1K48v
Judy
As a mining engineer I dedicated my life to understanding the things that could go wrong and kill people in the dangerous job of mining. I admit that I failed 3 times and that still haunts me.
During the 1980s I had various periods of treatment at RAF Headley Court (now relocated) – this was during and after the Falklands War and then during and after various in the Middle East. I did not see the damage done to civilians in those areas, nor to the infrastructure, other than by way of news broadcasts. What I did see was the damage done to British military personel, and in many cases to their families – a man burned beyond recognition cannot be recognised by his children – it was heartbreaking and in many cases resulted in family breakups as the wife shielded these very fightened children. I was asked (as a patient) to talk with some of these severely injured men as I was considered a good listener – their tales, all true, were heartbreaking. I have, as far back as I can remember, been against any sort of violence, including war. I have been caught up in turmoil in various countries such as Sudan and Uganda, and of course in Paris in the late 1960s. Mainly such violence is the result of greed and sometimes misunderstanding – I continually asked myself ‘why?’ and I still do. Thank you to all who, like me, do care.
Such questions led me to the Quakers.
Thanks for your testimony.
What drew me was the impact Quaker banks and finance houses had in the 18th and 19th centuries. Truly remarkable and it was not confined to the well known examples, Lloyds and Barclays; many local banks had Quaker owners too like Gurneys in Norwich. Sadly though the influence has gone. I wonder whether many involved in finance today could face answering Quaker query 37 honestly:
“ Are you honest and truthful in all you say and do? Do you maintain strict integrity in business transactions and in your dealings with individuals and organisations? Do you use money and information entrusted to you with discretion and responsibility?”
Is it too much to hope that one day in the Peaceable Kingdom these standards will become second nature? I think if the politics of hope gains traction we can have a sure and certain hope. Thank you Richard for giving that hope to me. Please don’t reply you’ve enough on your plate.
Well said Richard. It makes you want to cry, just how wicked and heartless the leaders of the Western Empire are. And yet most individuals I meet are so kind and generous! Our systems seem to reward the most mean and nasty in society.
But don’t they say that the darkest hour comes just before dawn? Aren’t we in the death throes of the neoliberal project? Don’t these wars prove the bankruptcy of their system – wars are the only way they can keep the profits of the oligarchs flowing?
I’m looking forward to 8th May. I’m optimistic that here in the UK at least, Hope will beat Hate!
Regards…Bob
I take heart from your optimism Bob