The war in Ukraine is no longer a local conflict. Chechnya has joined Russia, and Belarus is supporting it. Opposite them stands Ukraine, with the US, NATO, and many other countries supporting it with logistics and weapons. But while the West is trying to choke Russia financially, China has stepped in to its help. Russia, for its part, has put its nuclear arms on high alert. While all this is going on, China appears to be preparing to retake Taiwan by force, and has threatened the US not to interfere, stating that “whoever plays with fire will burn himself,” and that if the US “plays the ‘salami-slicing’ tactics on the Taiwan question, it is its fingers that will be cut off.” In my opinion, we are too close for comfort to a third, nuclear world war.
We must remember that under the right circumstances, even a small spark can start a world war. Remember that World War I began with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Sarajevo. When Austria invaded Serbia in retaliation, the military alliances of the adversaries dragged all of Europe into the battlefield. And because in those days, European countries had colonies around the world, the war soon turned into a global conflict.
Today’s world is laden with trigger-happy leaders who would gladly set the world aflame. Therefore, we should be concerned and understand that as bad as things are, they can become much worse, very soon.
Notwithstanding, when forces of separation awaken in the world, they are always a clarion, a herald that tells us that we must increase our efforts to connect, to bond with one another and rise above our mutual hatred. The only reasons for the afflictions and the terrible events unfolding in the world are hatred, cruelty, and the craving to tyrannize other people.
Therefore, any injustice is always a call to enhance unity, empathy, and care for one another. Times like these, when we are reminded of what really matters in life, are also an opportunity to form a better world and a more caring society.
This is not the time to bicker over historic justice and old scores. Now is the time to generate love, and we can do this only where there is no love today. If we build love where there was once hatred, it will be true love, our own creation, forged out of the ashes of the enmity we had defeated. We are living in challenging times, so we must rise to the challenge; we have no other choice.
Posted on The Times of Israel, Facebook, LinkedIn