06/01/2020
How can this be?! Is the question that riddled my mind when I woke up today. How can it be that in the same weekend that I witnessed man’s greatest scientific achievement of returning to space, and at the same time mankind can be so destructive to itself? It’s hard to have hope for humanity when these episodes continue to repeat themselves in our history.
I was there during the Rodney King riots. Structures burned only blocks away from my house. Not knowing what the next day would bring, I was scared then too. I heard helicopters overhead as I tried to sleep then. I thought, “This must be what it was like during the civil rights movement of the 60s.” And last night, those perplexing thoughts resurfaced.
“Why is this happening again?” Is it because when there’s talk about racial equality, it’s really just words that don’t have any real meaning? They’re just words that only serve to mask systemic racism and class differences in our society, and for that matter, in the world? And, as in the riots of 92', I now ask the same question that Rodney King asked then, "Why can't we all just get along?"
As a young adult, I was fascinated with the Star Trek philosophy. The belief that we would some day have a world that we could be proud to leave for our children. A world of compassion and understanding. A world of advancements in science, art and culture. A world where, the betterment of humanity takes precedent over all actions. But that concept seem so bleak now.
Until there is true dialogue of empathy and solution oriented conversations, I feel that the behaviour of driving huge wedges in our society will only continue in future generations.
I don’t have the answer to these troubling times. But I do cling to this one thought. If humanity can have its greatest minds come together to send men/women into space and unite at the International Space Station, then maybe there is a glimmer of hope that humanity can figure out a way to end these acts of self-destruction. I can only hope.
