All good and big things begin with belief in the possible. We are facing a crisis of confidence, and we need to face it down, sidestep the dread and move ahead.
Why do we look around and see rising chaos, a global shrug at rippling bad acts, heartbreaking actions and reactions, failed policies, government abuse, dysfunction, corruption, a sense of collective wearisomeness with it all?
Let’s get specific, think harder about the world, as it currently seems to be.
Why do suicide bombers exist? Because resentment outweighs hope. Because emotions, especially hate, can be easily ignited, cajoled, and manipulated to outshout and intimidate logic, even in one brain, one heart, one malleable soul, especially the young.
Because with little to live for, little of value, little material worth celebrating, little to hope on, or look forward to, or happily imagine… people are vulnerable.
Vulnerable to what? To eager pushers of radical ideologies. Like being introduced to a captivating drug, people succumb. Ideologies of hate feed anger, envy, resentment, and escapism. Because across much of the world, the value of life itself is low.
This is the saddest of realities, true in both half and full measures. This reality and fear are the malign motivators of senseless acts and philosophies unworthy of discussion, radical ideologies that treat life with indifference, victims and killer.
Truth is that we are witnessing – on a global scale – an erosion of hope, faith, belief in rights and peace, lost appreciation for life itself. Call it a landslide, not erosion.
In some places, respect for life was never taught or learned, like Taliban-dominated Afghanistan, languid Laos, crime-infested Venezuela, violent Iran.
The very idea of God-given rights – that God loves you, honors your individuality for all your faults, failings, and flaws – is unknown, something people are not used to and dare not believe in.
Today, we see Islamic radical terror, but also communist Chinese murder and persecution, death dealing by Russians in Ukraine, and a rising sense of global disarray, a spinning moral compass, overlapping circles of human distress.
Where does hope lie then? How have we, in times before this one, converted hopelessness into hope – for example, after the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, epidemics, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, tragedies, and the Holocaust?
The answer is that we – America – have modeled the “possible,” taught by example, shown unwavering faith in the power of human minds and hearts to heal, to revive, to summon reserves of resilience – with faith in God, peace, hope, and the future.
We have done that one by one, as a nation after wars, and after 9-11. We have demonstrated how to rally and defeat fear. We have led the world in this practice, shown how to get up, get going, not quit, not stop believing in that moral compass.
We have shown that life – like liberty – has value, that one life matters, always has and will. That is what we, as individuals, as America, and for the world need to do now. That is what leadership, moral, political, un-quitting leadership, looks like.
We are in a leadership troth, but we can crest again, be as strong as some of us think in our hearts we are. That kind of leadership turns back terrorism, lifts hearts, restarts hope, retires resentment, provides vision, educates about the possible, and puts the world back on solid footing.
We are not there yet. It will take time. But if hope is a poor strategy, not a winner without conviction and action, hopelessness is a worse strategy, none at all.
To turn the dial, stop the chaos, cure the cursed, reverse the landslide, we need to start pushing our leaders to envision healing, honor, accountability and hope, not the reverse.
If you look around again, and look closer, you will see that nothing about the modern mess, malignancy, and malaise is irreversible, nothing is inevitable, nothing is worth devaluing life for any reason.
The unspoken truth is that up-valuing life – our own and others- is at the center of this thing, and we need leaders who believe, model, and can teach that.
If we can elect them, the chaos goes away, stability returns, peace begins to stay. Norms change, faith in the possible grows, more conflict resolution less fear, war, and destitution. Good and big things begin with belief in the possible. Now is time.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, attorney, and naval intelligence officer (USNR). He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (2018), and is National Spokesman for AMAC.
the rising chaos is what the democrats and soros want. That should have been readily apparent when there were ridiculous no cause riots throughout 2019 and 2020 specifically paid for by the democrats and soros to cause chaos before the 2020 elections.
The riots claimed it was George Floyd riots, but they magically disappeared after the election. how strange! I guess black lives didn’t matter once the democrats were in power?
The politicians are not doing their job..no constructive correction for all the issues we are facing in America. They talk but do not deliver.
Throughout history, there have been dark periods of hopelessness. They have been reversed time and again. The old adage “it’s always darkest before the dawn” seems to be true. Let’s hope it’s true soon. Yes, I still have hope, even when many don’t. It’s a reason to get up in the morning and do something constructive.
Thank You once again for reaffirming what hope and courage headed in the right direction can accomplish. I was raised in a city which, like most larger cities, was diverse in ethnicities, and it was a darn good way to grow up. It seems those were not the beds where those who spread today’s chaos slept. I am 81 years old and once took my 15-year-old daughter home to the city I loved. She said, “Mom, can I take a walk?” I answered, “Of course.” When she returned, she quite excitedly stated, “Mom everyone I saw said Hello!” She, having be born and raised mostly in California was used to much different walks, where I was sent to the community board of residents because she was at my home too often. I had barely moved in because I was moving into a larger home to accommodate my 87 year old mother who had come from the city of my birth to live with me. My daughter owned her own place. She simply visited to be of help. My new neighbors had been keeping a calendar of her visits. The man who turned me in was a judge.
We used to have a government and a people who believed in US as people and as a culture. We have now, a government of fools and selfish politicians who hate us, our values and morals and who are so busy stuffing their pockets they don’t have time for goodness, hope and the future of our great nation. Do we have what we deserve? Perhaps. Can we do better, demand more and not settle for selfish mediocrity? YES! Vote the bums out and people in whom you have faith in.
Rising chaos because we have removed God, our Creator, from the picture. We all thrive on rules of order and most of those rules are not being acknowledged. Without rules and order there is no HOPE! All of Creation thrives on orderly conduct, those that cross the line are banished. We see it in the animal world, and need it in our world. When we have a rebelling toddler they are removed from the center of attention and told to go to their room until they can calm down and enter back into the family activity. Works in the family and the reason we have chaos is because the criminals are not removed from society and the rest of us are left with the damage and ashes. We all are responsible for our own actions and consequences of those bad actions are a ripple effect to others around us.
Just this 83 years old thoughts and observations of how far the failed caring and teaching of our young when you let the loonies run the show!
Where’s the sweet asteroid of death when you need one? People keep electing these idiots… WHY?
The Progressive Socio Fascist Democrats are in Power in many places across America and including the nations highest office, Executive, Judicial and half of the Legislature. They are the party of chaos and anarchy. The greater the problems the more they can justify expanding the power of the state. It’s pretty obvious from this administration that the “veiling” is removed and they are “going for broke”.
don’t forget the $25K bomber’s family gets paid through our tax dollars!!!
What I tell atheists: better a false hope than no hope at all…
There’s no world leader anymore because there’s no leaders in DC, just criminals. This is what happens when we lose an honest election system. It’s only going to get worse each day.
Nice altruistic approach but that alone without acknowledging the enemy of communists working feverously behind the scenes to create all the chaos possible will be fraught with failure.
For many the question has become…why not…given our world I hear them…
The world is a hell hole America stands out like a black eye Thus all the effort to destroy it Israel as well That too is an anomaly
Rising chaos is due to the lowering of control citizens have over their personal lives along with the rise in control Progressive and other D.C. Swamp dwelling politicians have over on our social lives as well as on the nation. This increase in chaos is created! Progressives have citizens living in a constant state of confusion and fear, not knowing what sex/gender we are or if hostile nations are going to release biological or nuclear weapons on US. Instead of using our power for peace, the current U.S. regime in D.C. is using their influence to create unstable and violent issues worldwide with their intention to get the U.S. involved in war.
We need to rid the U.S. government of every person who is not actively working to uphold the U.S. Constitution as it is intended and to benefit American citizens over any other citizen of the world.