After another atrocity … where to now after such a vile act that everyone is finding hard to comprehend? How should we deal with those that foster terrorism abroad and how do we deal with the self-proclaimed terrorist Islamic State when any form of negotiation is impossible? Anger and fear may generate more violence in the form of retaliation and revenge. And unfortunately increased polarisation is inevitable. Annihilation of the enemy and from a distance to minimise personal loss is always going to be a short term band aid solution.
The long term solution will lie with succeeding generations – ‘the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world’. It is imperative that we instil in our children a sense of value and respect for life – their own life and the life of others – in particular to be inclusive of all peoples no matter what religion. Tantamount to this is the ability to think for oneself without being misled by the mob. Hopefully such values will stay with them throughout their days in that great endeavour to make the world a better place.
But to what extent can poetry influence the world … and for that matter, to what extent can any words or thoughts change behaviour and influence life. It is happening all the time of course … we all contribute in one way or another – your voice is important. Today the influence of the internet and social networking is a very powerful force … this is an issue that has to be confronted head-on especially when the internet is used to warp the minds of the young, the vulnerable, and those that have been damaged by drugs. Theresa May has recognised the extent of the problem in her address after the recent atrocity in London. How this is to be effected is another matter.
For those with a spiritual dimension, those who believe in a ‘living creator’ –
Song of the Universe
Every Voice
Endless Rapture
Your
Voice
Oration Instilled
Creating Eternity
Some days we may not hear great harmony. But in the words of Gerard Manley Hopkins … ‘The world is (still) charged with the grandeur of God’.
Enjoy the beauty of this day and the wonder of creation.
my word in your ear 
As for Theresa May’s speech hours after the atrocity, it had obviously been very carefully written well in advance. It was a blatant excuse for more censorship and a shameless and disgraceful piece of electioneering on a day when the media and the Opposition were observing a self-imposed daylong political silence. It was as if she had been half expecting something to happen. Odd, isn’t it, how the security services kept dropping the ball during the election campaign….