Peace in our time

Today is the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Centre by terrorists and the sad loss of over 3000 lives. My heart goes out to all those who have had to live without their loved ones as a result. Whilst there is no hierarchy of grief and despair, i.e. one person's misery is of no less value than another’s; I do find myself wondering how it is that the loss of what is a relatively small number of people, in terms of global disasters, has been allowed to dominate our thoughts and actions for so long.

As far as I can make out, no lasting good has come out of these events given that they occupy so much of our thinking. Indeed the number of lives that have been lost in retaliation, plus the justifying of despicable actions and the heinous treatment of others in the name of national security, seems to far outweigh the loss that America suffered. Perhaps it is because the mighty USA believed that it was invincible that it reacted with such ferocity; restructuring American society to be driven by fear and suspicion of everything non American.

Who has suffered the most? The Americans or the people who live in close proximity to those they have identified as the axis of evil?

The world is full of examples of people who have turned great personal loss into a quest for peace and reconciliation because they have understood that there is no such thing as fighting for peace; that revenge only nurtures your future nemesis and hatred eats away at the soul.

How different the world would be if instead of seeking to hunt down and destroy, America put all its efforts into redressing the injustices perpetuated by its dominance of world trade that engenders so much anti-American sentiment and thus provides ample material to radicalise those opposed to its actions.

It is understandable that until now it has been too soon to think beyond the immediacy of the pain. Now that 10 years have passed, let's hope that this milestone signifies the start of a new era of thought across the world , primarily focused on bringing lasting peace through mutual understanding.