For 70 years the word “holocaust” has been in common use and we all knew it was about the bigoted murder of thousands of civilians during The Second World War. Schindler’s List and other movies have brought the tragedy alive in our minds. It was about the wholesale extermination of people to make space for others. Then, in World War 2, it was minorities, like Jewish and Polish people and others. The methods were vile: gassing, poisoning, firing squad, hanging, burying, starving and working men, women and children to death. That extermination became known as “The Holocaust”.
The meaning of “holocaust”, from Ancient Greek custom and language, is about fire and sacrifice. It refers to burnt offerings of animal flesh to appease gods. This kind of ritual was differentiated from celebratory rituals in which animal flesh was shared among the celebrants rather than being completely burnt up in offering to the gods.
Today, in a world of space travel, nuclear weapons, internet, mobile phones, genetic engineering and “artificial intelligence” we are allowing The Second Holocaust. Millions of people have been bombed in a rubble concentration camp called Gaza, where they are being starved and poisoned to death. This violent decimation of people and infrastructure is fuelled by the “World’s Policeman”, America (perhaps not so united as it once intended), which sends weapons, bombs and personnel to assist the State of Israel in their plan to exterminate a whole group of people, Palestinians, in their own land, Palestine, occupied for over 75 years by an immigrant population.
Millions of people around the world have called for a ceasefire. Multilateral actors, like the United Nations and the International Court of Justice, have called for a ceasefire and the urgent supply of aid, water, food, medicine, and shelter. But the sacrifice of people continues. The burnt offering of people to appease “Yahweh” continues.
This is not a spiritual war. This is not a war of religion. There are not two parties to the combat. There is only one – the State of Israel. The stated objective and observed action has been to torture and kill all the people of Gaza. The State of Israel is championed by America in this endeavour. In America, those who peacefully demonstrate for ceasefire and a halt to the genocide are beaten, pepper sprayed, arrested, often by military units. America is using its army on its own people! This encourages Israel to continue its pursuit of extermination. They can see that America is protecting them from international exclusion.
Today it seems that we are on the brink of another critical turning point – the invasion of Rafah. If this is allowed to happen by America it will destroy any vestiges of trust left in the international community. This is the biggest threat to prosperity for all of humanity.
The breakdown of natural systems that support life on Earth is accelerating visibly, even to people who don’t care. The holocaust in Gaza is the test of humanity’s moral fibre that we are failing dismally. The cause and consequences are bleak. The Second Holocaust is motivated by the objective of controlling fossil fuel resources in the Middle East. Much has already been stolen in the past six months. The burning of this resource it the principal driver of biosphere breakdown.
How dangerous is this? 250 million years ago a mass extinction event cause the death of over 90% of animal species. This mass extinction event was the release of massive amounts of carbon dioxide from Earth’s crust. In the past 100 years human activity has release 10% of the amount that was released 250 million years ago, in 1% of the time, that is 10x as fast. It is long past time to stop destroying the biosphere. End the sacrifice of Earth.
While America steals fossil fuel resources (oil) from the region, using Israel as its tool of oppression, the bombing of civilians in Gaza has released more carbon emissions in October and November than the annual carbon footprints of 20 of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. Human remains, asbestos and unexploded munitions are unaccounted for pollutants and there has been a catastrophic spike in land, soil and water pollution.
So Gaza is a climate/biosphere problem because its objecvtive is fossil fuel extractyion and because bombs are releasing huge amounts of carbon.
But there is a third destabilising factor which is most worrying. The destabilisation of multilateral cooperation is becoming assured. Any pretence that the global world order is influenced by a moral compass has been exposed. It is clear that America will oppress the world, particularly black and brown people, to obtain power for its elite. (Remember it is only a few in America who foment the violence and who will benefit from riches. Half of Americans own nothing.) The global pyramid of power, euphemistically called capitalism, funnels resources to the few at the top. (That mechanism is legally called “interest” or “rent”.) But the consequence of this arrogance is the destruction of the illusion of multilateral cooperation and values based global management. We all now know that America and the rich are unreliable, untrustworthy and selfish. So how will there ever be any agreement on carbon, let alone global morals or common objectives? Why would the global south, which has the majority of climate protecting resources think that America, the West, Europe is trustworthy in light of six months of murdering women and children, and now locking up its own citizens for lawfully, peacefully demonstrating for peace? The disintegration of trust is accelerating. because the Second Holocaust continues. We are all sacrificing our humanity by turning a blind eye to this exercise of domination
Why share this dark perspective with its depressing consequences?
Because awareness is the first step to changing behaviour and to turning away from darkness to the altruism that differentiates humanity from other primates.
Enough!
We have sufficient food and materials needed to keep us alive, we have the understanding to thrive, but instead we are scrabbling for survival, which has euphemistically become known as “sustainability”. What a sad reflection on humanity. With all the trappings of success it continues to foul its drinking water, poison its food and break its home, while ignoring the joys of life to exist in fabricated, dead enclosures: concrete zoos (cities), metal and plastic shelters (homes and cars), eating factory food and spending time competing with strangers instead of living with family and friends. The kindness and patience of the species is being abused by a tiny proportion of selfish, vested interests, but enough is enough. Past due time for humanity to grow up, put away weapons and learn to love again. We must all choose a different future now.
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