There is no weakness in adjoining with the weak. There is no wrong in giving mercy to those who may have done wrong on a petty, fleeting whim. And there certainly is no inherent right that may be granted by a human to a human, so there is no inherent right that may be taken away by a human being from someone else - contained, maybe, but not wholly and horrifically stripped from another’s own ability, for example, to see, hear, smell, taste, touch. To speak. No individual being who resides as a member of humanity maintains those capacities, therefore such an individual does not have the power to rid a fellow person of any capability so innate and elemental. One may possibly help in the redemption of these aptitudes if lost or disabled, but it is the the power of the Universe which holds this ultimate authority to bestow these instinctive rights, so it is of that same authority that may take these rights away. People are mere vessels of life, not the true creators of it.
The human imagination is a wonderful little machine - it can take one to the happiest places as well as the most miserable - sometimes to a world so profound, so perplexing and then to one so simple and light, as though nothing can shake that sensibility. It has taken me to worlds I only dream about - to the Elizabethan courts when Shakespeare was the true king of England, to the world of the Ancient Greeks and Romans when mosaics were simply property just like women - a horrific notion to this day, but, for every negative comes a positive, and women knew how to manipulate their value better than men, even if men truly believed otherwise. I could continue with examples and stories, but that would take the fun out of your own imaginary visit. My imagination has even taken me to distant past/future realms only iterated in books, fan fiction, film, and literature - to countries I’ve never visited, and even to homes I’d love to see.
It has also taken me to Syria.
The current Syrian crisis is, without question, the worst humanitarian catastrophe of our time. It began in March 2011 due to Syrian’s President Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial authority and his movement for violent, inhuman, and unspeakable action against peaceful protestors against his poor politics and personal atrocity. Over the years, the conflict between al-Assad’s government and those who reside within it has only grown, and currently upwards of 11 million people have either become a refugee or internally displaced person because of the turmoil. The number of these survivors was in the thousands in 2011, and has grown into a sum so incomprehensible, that Europe is scrambling for solutions to the incoming refugees at any cost.
What we need to fix this problem is to really get to the, as I call it, kernel of devastation that provoked it. We will find this so-called catalyst within al-Assad’s rulership. He is not a president, he is not a diplomat, he is a dictator. Any person under his power who questions his will, his authority, or his politics will receive a fate so unbelievable, so humiliating, that this is not even a question through the millions he has displaced already. There are no limits or bounds to his inhumanity, and it is the obligation and duty of Europe and the United States of America to ultimately stop his continual, false reign.
It is also of Europe’s duty to welcome these displaced individuals. Many have travelled by foot, boat, or lodged into the undercarriages of trains and cars to reclaim their humanity.
Can you imagine that though? Surrounded by a world defined by violence, bombs, shootings, and the fear for your own safety evokes a need to flee somewhere else, anywhere else, as your only option. And, for that matter, the horror in those moments of a sinking boat, for example, one meant to carry these families to a potential freedom, a sweet break from a life that has become an empty existence - and the only moments of meaning were in protecting oneself and loved ones. And this boat, this simple means of transport, was their only true object of faith?
Can you imagine that?
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