I never would have guessed

 Looking back on the early days after WWII I must admit I never would have guessed that our world would once again be embroiled in a prelude to war. The 50s were delicate years of diplomacy but then the mid 60s arrived and life just seemed a little less tense. That is sixty years ago now and we have lived through pleasant times albeit with many catastrophic events on the planet. 

So I must admit that I watch and listen and wonder but at 78 I am not so much a part of the world as I am heading to the end of my time in the world. I think looking at the World History this has been one of the longest periods of time where peace in so many places has existed. It was so peaceful on the oceans that pirates dared to attack ships on the open seas until the United Nations brought an end to a lot of that. It has been a time of movement but even those numbers do not compare to the total population of the world that has remained pretty much fixed in place. 

So where do we go from here; 2024 sounds like a year of vast change perhaps or maybe none at all as people recognize what is good for a country or what is not. Just under three months to go until 2024 and I do wonder what it will bring. An end to totalitarianism or an end to democracy as we know it. Are we really at a crossroads? Hard to believe really that the pleasant life of the 1980s has come to this. It is like a never ending story as one dictator arises is conquered and the world recovers and another arrives. That has been the history of mankind thus far. What is it about dictators that people like? Do people really feel they  need to have a powerful person at the helm (it would appear that countries are better off with a more wishy-washy type of person)? Isn't it much better to have a group of trusted people (not bent on revenge or total control) run for office, get elected, debate properly in parliament and run the country. Question Period in Canada has been an interesting event although I do dislike personal attacks; it isn't debating it is being a two year old. War is such a devastation and the recovery so onerous and the people found to be responsible so difficult to deal with because they are not able to see what they have done and think they can outlive that and everyone will forget. Trust me most people do not forget but they get sucked in by good deeds. 

Took a break as I contemplate the world around me and the sadness there is for so many people; who is gaining, I always wonder that. No one in actual fact.