The Human Wager

As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, joy, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take a moment to think and reflect.

     The truth is that I love art, I actually remember staying awake late in my room and painting, some times my mum would tell me to turn out the lights because it was getting late, she loved my art work. Sometimes she would show it off to my uncles and say: "look what Shazia made". It is interesting that now I do the same, except with our children. There is something about art that is visually appealing to the eyes and to the senses.

There is also something about art that many artists have done through the years, that is to convey messages through their works, to create awareness about particular issues. For the purposes of my thoughts: I was thinking specifically about the arts as a mechanism to alert individuals to various social and political topics. Many artists used their abilities as avenues to reveal effects of political regimes.

Revolutionary Art

     With the invention of the camera lens, and even the handy cell - phone, we are able to take photos, make video's in an instant. Sometimes these could also be to alert society about the effects of a certain topic upon a society. So here we arrive at the question as to what art and photo's have in common. It takes much more time for the artists to create a work of art, and very quick for a photographer to take a photo about the similar topic. I would argue that even though it does take longer for the artists, the artists should never stop creating. There is value to these creations. They are an avenue not just for display, but also from the perspectives of cognition, they act as an expansion to our own thinking.

     The benefits of the photograph is the quickness. They can alert individuals and mass societies in an instant. A current example is that of the recent chemical gas attack upon the innocent Syrian's, who were mostly women and children. This was not just an attack on Syrian's, this was an attack against humanity. The images left me in a state of deep shock, who would carry out such barbarism? It was a cold bloodless attack. Any thinking being who possesses the  human trait of sympathy and empathy will have felt some internal anguish. As The Boston Globe reported: "Any image of a young casualty of war is more that a news photograph, it is a call to our consciousness." 

The Boston Globe

     These images act as a calling. When I looked at these images instantly I thought about this as a very, very cold blooded attack. A horror. It was not a quick shot, but a slow death. Can you imagine the pain and suffering of these individuals? Can you imagine the pain and suffering of the family members that were watching their loved ones die?

This type of barbarism has no place in the 21st Century, and must be eradicated, with the tools that are available. Russia must understand that it has violated the chemical weapons agreements, and needs to be held accountable. This is not about taking sides, it is about standing up for what is right.

     The air strikes ordered by President Donald Trump should not be viewed as an act of aggression, simply because Russia has initiated this devastating attack that is against all of humanity. Russia is the aggressor. I stand with the United States of America , and call upon all world leaders, and even Royal Kingdoms to unite. Any act of terror to any civilian is an act against humanity. I am proud of the American leadership who has stood united beyond political party lines, to demonstrate a unified perspective to this decision that was carried out by our President. Sometimes an executive decision has to be made.

     The war in Syria has been a wager for too long. There are comfy relationships that leaders have with each other. If the future is vested in innovations, growth, and creativity, then we must also put an end to barbarism. This is not reflective of a 21st century. 

     Now that there has been a point where Assad and Putin are held accountable, these leaders should think about their comfy relationships with one another. World leaders should think about how this "comfyness" is simply set out to protect each other, and looks away from the good of their own people. Whilst there has been back lash and criticism  towards these air strikes, I also view this as an opportunity, for world leaders to come together, to put their own selfish needs to the side, and really take the time to think, reflect, discuss how these barbarisms are not reflective of a future. How these barbarisms serve as a contradictory force to the visions of the 21st century which is asking for innovations, sustainablity, and creativity. The intellectual revolution has passed, humans know where and how to get information at the touch of their fingertips, it is about what we do, how we be with the knowledge that we possess. This is critical for the developments of a sustained, healthy World, and Earth. 

     Update: As. Write these words we now see destruction in Sweden and shots fired once again in Houston, Texas. I continue to pray for peace, and once again call upon world leaders to stop taking the easy solutions of death, destruction to prove what? Human beings are intellectual beings, let us use this gift wisely. 

Dedication: These words are dedicated to all human beings, life is a precious gift. My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :) 

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand written on April 7th 2017, and were updated whilst publishing to include the thoughts related to the Swedish terror attack.

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