News of sorts.
With so many of the big threads here being so gloomy ("ongoing terrorism thread", "ongoing mass shooting thread", "New American Politics", "I don't want to live on this planet..."), I get a feeling that there's something wrong with the how we (meaning people in general, not just CP) talk about the world, and it needs some counter-balance. The dark stuff is so prevalent these days, and yet huge things like the decline of war flies completely under the radar.
https://medium.com/@angushervey/the-...5ce#.jr08fvy71
Quote:
|
On Wednesday 21st June, the Colombian government agreed to a ceasefire with the country’s largest rebel group. For most people, this story would have passed unnoticed, buried amongst the headlines. That’s a pity. Not only does it mark the end of a 50 year old war that has killed more than 220,000 people, it also signals the end of official armed conflict in the entire western hemisphere of the planet.
|
Quote:
|
If you can tear your attention away from the 24 hour news cycle, you’ll be astonished to hear that we are experiencing one of the least discussed, yet most remarkable cultural shifts of all time: war, one of our species’ most abiding and defining social practices, is at its lowest ebb ever.
|
I also love this quote from the article I linked, because it so clearly goes against so many popular talking points of these days.
Quote:
|
Why is war declining? Well the answer is complicated, but a big part of it seems to be that our institutions are getting better. After centuries of hard earned lessons, people are starting to understand that governance really matters. Democracy is more prevalent today than ever before (and despite all its obvious flaws, it’s still a hell of a lot better than authoritarianism and feudal serfdom).
|
Thoughs? Comments?