Well November 5th has come and gone and a few places have been blown up around the world this year, although more damaging in practical terms than the Gunpowder Plot in England a few centuries ago. The perpetrators were not then called terrorists but were convicted of Treason, as they were attempting to interfere and destroy with the status Quo of the English Parliament at the time. They no doubt would have called themselves Freedom Fighters and herein lies the difficulty of language. Around the world during most of humans existence there have been those who believe in something entirely different to the contemporary view of what a world order should be. Many wars have been and are still fought over them with millions of people being killed as a result. Who is right and who is wrong is always decided by those in power at the time. So, as the saying goes, one mans traitor is another man's freedom fighter. Lines have to be drawn. That goes without saying, almost. Yet in the reading of history (mostly written by the victors) it seems almost as if the words consensus, compassion and rational thought go missing. This is but a superficial interpretation because once history is delved into in greater depth there is almost always a closer relationship between making money, usually via big business and politics than should be morally acceptable. The Pirates that robbed other ships of their wealth under the auspices of Royalty is one example. The Dutch East India Company is another. The raping of other countries and their people, often followed by their cultural as well as physical conquest has been a recurring one.
Why is it that we humans cannot use the words we need to use when trying to fix problems but always raise our voices, our rhetoric and our violence when others do not agree with us. Maybe we feel we deserve the freedom to choose words that satisfy our egos rather than our souls. Souls now that is another word that means different things to different people. A whole new world to explore.
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