I've been trying to keep a finger on the pulse of world events as they flash by, though goodness knows why I bother: most events reported in the media are so depressing, I would like to escape, as the Soviet newsmakers used to do by reporting only good news -- the output of tractors, the achievements of football teams. I'd prefer not to hear the trumpeting of the deplorable, bombastic ignoramus the Republican party in the USA has selected as its candidate in this year's presidential contest. And contest is a suitable word to describe what is going on, the whole thing is, perhaps quite rightly, being treated by the media as if it were a wrestling match.
As for international affairs, the news out of Syria is alarming and profoundly depressing. I find it incomprehensible that seemingly nothing is being done to restrain the ruthless and murderous regime of Bashir al-Assad. Is this because of President Obama's aversion to getting drawn into yet another Middle East entanglement? It's tempting to bury one's head in the sand, as seemingly are the leaders of the western nations.
The international news is bad enough, the ecological news -- especially at the global level -- is worse. Global climate change continues relentlessly, destroying vital life-supporting ecosystems, most ominously marine ecosystems, where the consequences are profoundly destructive for terrestrial as well as marine life-support systems. The combination of a seemingly trivial rise in sea temperature and equally imperceptible declining pH -- increasing acidity -- kills coral reefs, which are dying everywhere, and disrupts the growth of every life form that has a calcium-based exoskeleton.
My birth cohort was indeed a very lucky one. We had the best of all worlds. All those born since the beginning of the new millennium will have a much harder struggle just to survive, let alone to prosper in an increasingly hostile world. All the dice are loaded against them. I am sad and very sorry for my grandchildren.
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