At the core we are a peaceful people. We enjoy our small slice of life on our tiny little island, peaceful and quiet. All we want to do is live and thrive. That’s completely natural, you want it, I want it, most of us want it, but peace is also a double-edged sword. Striving for peace can also mean ignoring what goes on around us, ignoring the hardship of others, ignoring the conflict that erupts around us. Peace is usually enjoyed as an individual or in very small groups, it’s very difficult to extend peace to a large swathe of people, because there are always people out there that are suffering, there are always people out there that are grieving. Choosing peace by ignoring these people, by ignoring the conflict, by ignoring the pain of others, is normal. We cannot care for everyone, not as one person. We cannot care for everyone, not as a small family unit. Every single one of us must make sure that as an individual we are able to keep our family safe, happy and at peace before anything else. But perhaps we should start opening our eyes, perhaps we must lift our heads up when we’re out and about and look around us. Perhaps we must get our faces out of our phones and notice the little details that may have changed. I will admit it’s not obvious, most times it’s not obvious. It’s not obvious to notice that maybe there have been more police on the streets than the usual. It’s not obvious to realize that in the span of two years we now accept things that two years ago may have been very hard for us to accept. But it goes beyond that.
We tend to exist within our social group, within our work group, and within our norm, so unless something occurs in those slices of our life, we are not always exposed to it. But, if we follow the news and current affairs of this small country there are certain things that crop up that may seem meaningless, may look innocuous, may be little details, but it’s those very same details that if we choose to ignore today, will come back to haunt us tomorrow. The new IBA act that was voted in caused an uproar in the media community as some of us may be aware. Others may not be aware, and if we are aware of it maybe we don’t care about it, because it doesn’t affect us. Or at least we think it doesn’t affect us, but those are the very same seeds that are planted quietly, that grow into tall trees that may overshadow us. Recently the National TV station broadcasted a recorded interview from a well-known religious leader. That very same religious leader shared the full extent of his interview on social media. If you would compare the two, as some have done, you will notice that there are some differences between the two editions that have been highlighted by others in the media community. What may seem to be innocuous in the content that was changed, may also be a glaring red flag in the action that was taken. A national entity chose to modify, edit, and cut parts of what someone said to the people. It may sound simple and there may be a valid reason for it, who knows, and yet it still shouts that something is wrong.
We have stood at peace for so long, obeyed for so long that maybe it’s time we looked at ourselves in the mirror. I love my peace, many of the choices in my life have been made to accentuate my peace, but peaceful times offer also offer some the opportunity of exploitation, also offer some the opportunity of control, also offer some the opportunity to consolidate power. If any of reading this feel the same way dig deep, look around you, observe what’s happening and if what’s happening feels like it’s going beyond what should be happening perhaps the time for peace is ended…
