I’m troubled by what’s going on in our society, both at a local and global level.  There is so much poverty, conflict, anger and lack of compassion in the world right now, that it is hard to see a way through what seems like a relentless swing to extremes, where the values that once seem to be a given, i.e., empathy, compassion, care, love and even forgiveness are no longer to the fore. 

Those qualities appear to have been replaced by a narrative which expresses itself as demonisation, scapegoating, lies, exaggeration, ego, a lack responsibility and accountability. 

The desire to dominate, divide, appeal to and nurture fear, and give succour to those who seek only to promote an agenda of protectionism, separation, segregation and hatred, seems to have gone unchecked. 

I grew up in the 80s, began raising a family in the 90s and looked forward to the 00s (and whatever this decade is known as) with optimism.  The hope generated by events such as the end of apartheid, the fall of communism, the end of the Troubles in Ireland now seem like a distant memory.

As compared with what feels like and appears to be the rise of angry, divisive, somewhat ‘uneducated,’ power-hungry men, vying for a place or their place in the world – the US, Russia, Turkey, Hungary, Brazil, Israel, Syria, the Philippines, and North Korea among others.

This is epitomised by a sense of approach that’s either black or white, a commitment to dictate rather than lead, a desire to dismantle conventions and alliances (that have gelled nations together for decades and underpinned our humanity after the devastation of two world wars), a determination not to compromise or coalesce, a blatant disregard for the power of language, and a penchant for not only stifling discussions and debate, but label those who question or critique, as agitators, unpatriotic, (even in some cases as) terrorists and a threat to the nation or state.

The world to all intents and purposes has the appearance of chaos and disarray but history tells us that this old planet has seen much more troubled times and that relatively speaking we are living in much safer times than at any point in our past.

How in this day and age when we know what we now know, when we continue to learn every day, when we have achieved so much through research, study and discovery in health, science, technology and a range of other distinctive disciplines, how we still for example, persecute minorities? 

Why do we still deny to many basic human rights that were enshrined in international law after the second world war?  How have we still managed to allow modern-day slavery?  Why is there still debate over climate change? Why do we still go to war? 

Why do we not truly reflect upon the consequences of our policy, our practice, our words, and our deeds on the lives others?  How can we let so few amass such amazing wealth whilst so many go hungry or lack shelter or the most basic of services?  The list of questions is endless.

Will it really take an invisible bug to cause us to pause for thought or will we need to witness a cataclysmic weather event or be on the verge of nuclear armageddon to really jolt us into changing our ways?

Where is the leadership? Where is the hope?  Where are the mechanisms of accountability?  Where have our principles gone?  Why have we been so fundamentally compromised that to criticise the actions of another nation is sacrificed in order to ensure the business and commercial interests of another?

I am a Youth Worker by profession.  I am also a parent, and a grandparent.  I have endeavoured to nurture in my own children and in those young people I have worked with and continue to work with, even informally, ideas and ideals around fairness, justice, equality, honesty, and integrity among others. 

Yet how do I, and we collectively, reconcile this with the overwhelming evidence that corruption is pervasive in politics, that wealth disparity undermines social cohesion, or the delusional notion, that a person of colour is still treated unequally, and that women, still continue to shoulder overwhelming levels of domestic violence or be continuously objectified sexually?

How do we continue to accept that leaders of countries can kill, maim, injure and openly discriminate against those whose only ‘crime’ is that they love and share intimacy with someone of their own gender?  How have we arrived at a point that those who perform their job as a journalist will be intimidated, arrested, tortured and killed even because they choose to question the dominant narrative or expose the illegal activities of a state?  How have we turned ‘whistle blowers’ into demons and traitors and criminalise those actively trying to save the planet as terrorists?

How do I, or any other youth worker for that matter, genuinely reconcile these contradictions with my trying to positively influence young people to stand up for those values which will make it all worthwhile in the long run when evidently, that appears not to be the case?

It’s those at odds with the majority of us who seem to occupy seats of power and end up drowning out if not muffling the voices of reason, pragmatism and co-operation. 

Where are the leaders?  Where is the hope?