Fear and The World

I feel a little like my grandfather as I write this, but since he was pretty cool, I'm going to go ahead.

My nephew was worried about the world. He's 9 years old and let's face it, the world isn't peaceful and calm at the moment. Every news item is full of terrorism, political unrest, public dissatisfaction. There's not a lot of good news, or so it seems. Sensationalism sells. And bad things make sensations. When it came out in a couple of newspapers, the radio, and a TV news program, bad news was manageable. Now, we're saturated in it 24 hours a day. We have to switch off, literally, to regain some sense of equilibrium, or I do!

All this unrest reminds me of my youth (this is the grandfathery bit). In the 1980s major unrest was occurring in the Middle East with much interest in the West. In 1981, Ronald Reagan came to power as the US President. An actor, with limited political experience, seemingly not a lot of intelligence, and an ego that quite made up for anything lacking. He was outspoken and keen to show America's might and power.

I was in high school, heavily interested in politics and world affairs. It was a terrifying and unsettling time.

I was also in a church youth group and around 1985, about when the US were taking a hard stance and talking about bombing Libya, I had to give a talk about the world. Our youth group was quite structured (part of a bigger movement) and so I had guidelines to work through when writing the talk. It was to be presented at our live-in weekend and was about 30-45 mins long, designed to initiate discussion and meditation.

I read the guidelines and knew I could not do this talk. No way on earth could I present the talk they wanted. The talk needed to be hopeful, positive, optimistic. It had to show how wonderful humanity was. Nothing in the world gave me any hope for humanity - it was all war and annihilation.

Each speaker was assigned an adult mentor to assist with their talk. Mine was the priest. This wasn't going to go well. The priest was an intelligent, articulate theologian, but he was down to earth. He swore, drank, and called a spade a bloody spade. But he was still a priest who believed in hope, goodness, love and happy endings. I wasn't looking forward to this discussion. There was no way I could do this talk, and I had no hope of him understanding.

It's so long ago I forget the details but I've never forgotten the feelings or the overall lessons.

He took my concerns seriously. A man quick to laugh, quick to thunder,, and quick to give an opinion, was silent, thoughtful and serious. A man I admired for his intelligence listened to me and encouraged me to share my views on the world, politics and the future.

An environmentalist. A female who wanted to do what men did when women were unable to. I'd rarely been afforded this respect.

I recall that we discussed. If he brought something up that I didn't know, he'd give me a book to read or I'd research it before next time. Sometimes he gave me a brief overview.

It was tough discussing the world with a man almost 50 years older than I, who I'd only ever listened to with awe. But he gave me time and space. He taught me as he listened. He encouraged me to share my thoughts and fears, without censure.

We discussed world events in a historical context I had never thought of before. Vastly different to a history lesson at school, he made me think about society in the time of WWI, WWII, and the Boer War. He made me look at the technology available at that time, and compare that to present day. Not only the military technology but social too. We talked about politics in different countries. Societal structures in different countries, and in different times.

We talked and talked. Discussed. Debated. Nothing heated. It was calm, intellectual, respectful. I was never made to feel inferior or wrong or unknowing.

After a few weeks of these discussions, he asked me about my talk. I'd forgotten about it because I was never going to be able to do it. I dragged out the guidelines.

I could do it.

I hadn't changed all my opinions, but I had a broader context when looking at the questions. I didn't have to look at the present events with unknown endings, I could look at historical events with known outcomes.

Wars have occurred since time began. In the creation story in The Bible, two people existed and even they disagreed! When they had two kids, they fought. There was a human nature component to fighting, disagreeing, warring.

Thirty years later, as I despair about the world again (and my nephew worries about life), I'm reminded of this priest. His faith in the resilience of humans. Of the many many wars that dot the pages of history. The many deaths that have rarely resolved issues. Yet the world has continued.

In all the 'bad' news, I can see good too. Look at how many 'male' things women are allowed to do. How many more people care about the environment. How many more environmental jobs exist, and tourism booms off the environment.

I'm reminded of discussions with my grandfather. Reminded of ageing and cycles of life.

I'm trying to remind myself that the world didn't end before I made it to adulthood. I'm hoping it won't end now.

I'm wishing this priest was alive so I could have long discussions that never spoke the word 'reassurance' but reassured me anyway. I wish I had the
words he gave me to reassure my nephew.