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Stockholm Syndrome in Sharm El-Sheik: Searching for Hope at a UN Climate Conference

By Issac Mann

Everyone in the conference center at COP27 (the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference) was looking for something. Some were looking for new partners or to expand their networks, while others were looking for investment opportunities or policy commitments. But I was looking for something less concrete: hope. 

My search was shared by many in my group as well. I traveled to Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, with the Christian Climate Observers Program (CCOP), a non-denominational group committed to teaching Christians to be better climate advocates. This organization brought together Christians of all ages from around the world, and many of the young people in the group shared a common struggle with climate anxiety. It was the fear of what the future would hold if no action was taken against climate change that motivated us, myself included, to come to this conference. For others in the group, anxiety had already passed into grief. Family members lost to flooding, communities lost to wildfire, or livelihoods lost to financial burden were the driving factors behind their activism. We sought hope of some kind, proof that God was working in the midst of the chaos around us. And so, our anxious and mourning souls went into the massive conference center, longing for a reason to hold onto hope. 

My first activity at COP27 was to listen to the opening speeches. I sat giddy with excitement in a large overflow room filled with others not granted in-person access to the main event. We watched on big screens as prominent world leaders gave their opening remarks. Given the overwhelming scope of climate change, I had gone into the conference expecting to find hope in these largest and most powerful bodies, so I listened intently to what they had to say. If the world’s governments couldn’t solve climate change, who could? I thought. But as I listened, my excitement and hope plummeted. I realized that I had developed a strange sort of climate Stockholm Syndrome. 

Stockholm Syndrome is a condition that some people fall into during hostage scenarios. In a distorted understanding of their situation, the captives start to develop a bond and sympathize with their captors. And I had fallen into this state of mind. The climate is being held captive by private economic interests and political systems that value profit and growth more than the well-being of those held dear by God. And yet, I had placed my hope in these very systems. I thought they were well-intentioned, that if we had the right people in power, saying the right things, meaningful change would come. It was with this twisted hope that I sat in that room. 

As world leader after world leader rambled on about “unity,” “urgency,” and “taking action,” I became increasingly disillusioned. My skewed view of where hope would be found was made obvious to me as I realized I was being told how important reducing carbon emissions was by oil barons. I was listening to military dictators tell me how much they cared about justice. Even those from my own country, the United States, bragged about our new partnerships with billionaires and private corporations (the leading contributors to carbon emissions) to fund new environmental programs. It was these systems and leaders that I was sympathetic to, that I looked to for salvation, and yet they were the very ones holding our planet and future for ransom. 

I spent those first few days discouraged. I realized my hope had been misplaced and tried to dismantle my climate Stockholm Syndrome, but I didn’t know where else to turn for hope. I asked myself again, ‘If the world’s governments couldn’t solve climate change, who could?’

I did eventually find hope at COP27, just not where I had thought I would. In hindsight, I should have expected it. Our hope is in God, that much should be obvious to Christians, but where God would be found was what I needed to answer. God has never been revealed in the most powerful among us, in the wealthiest or most privileged. God did not appear to Elijah in 1 Kings 19 in the strong wind, or the fiery earthquake, but rather in the gentle whisper. God did not come to Earth in the form of a Caesar or military leader, but rather as a carpenter from Nazareth. So, I should’ve expected that God would not be revealed to me in Egyptian President Sisi, or in Joe Biden. 

Every morning, my CCOP group started the day with breakfast and a devotional. Together, we would rejoice the successes and commiserate the frustrations of the previous day. At every panel discussion or lecture I attended, I sat shoulder to shoulder with others who cared for the right reasons, who cared enough to travel to the middle of the Egyptian desert, who cared enough to listen and learn in any way possible. Conversations were had, connections were made, and I realized that I was surrounded by thousands of regular people who cared deeply about the protection of our planet and its inhabitants. It was in these people that I found God, that I found the hope I was looking for.

It’s clear that we need to overcome our reliance and trust in those systems that are holding our planet and future hostage. To make it through the changing of our climate, we need serious systemic change. But what COP27 taught me is that this change will never come from the top down.  Our hope will not be found in the economic powers and world leaders that preside. Our hope is where God is, with the marginalized, the disenfranchised, the mourning, the anxious, the masses who are calling out for a more just world. We are each other’s hope, and only together will we be able to accomplish the change we need. ★

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Stories In Focus

Faith and Justice Symposium: Hope in the Midst of Deep Conflict

Houghton College’s fourth annual Faith and Justice Symposium will be tackling the weighty topics of War, Conflict, and Violence, with an emphasis on the enduring presence of hope. Beginning Wednesday September 24th and continuing throughout the week, the Symposium hopes to not only to inform about relevant world issues but also to contextualize and equip Houghton campus with a deepened understanding of conflict.

Wynn Horton, a student coordinator for the event comments, “Every single person at or around Houghton is impacted by war whether they believe it or not. War and conflict have shaped the history of the world and provide the foundations for the present. Without understanding the expansive effects of these violent events, we cannot expect to find resonance with those whose lives have been woven through cultures of war, conflict, and violence.”

This year’s Symposium hopes that students will attend and apply the event’s message to their own lives. Professor of Intercultural Studies and Director of the Center for Faith, Justice, and Global Engagement, Ndunge Kiiti comments,  “[The theme of] ‘Stories of Hope’ is to remind us that we can do something about these complex issues.  It may be interfacing or impacting one person or many, but, whatever or whoever it is, it makes a difference.” Student coordinator, Moeun Sun, additionally states, “A goal of the Symposium is to explore how even in the midst of deep conflict there remains to be hope. We want to reframe the perception of conflict, not focusing only on the conflict, but also address it in ways that bring hope to people.”

Speaker Molly Little from the United Nations and Office of Humanitarian Affairs will open up this year’s Symposium lectures, and iCourtesy of Moeun Sunt is assumed she will be relating tales from her experience with the U.N.

Other speakers include Reverend Celestin Musekura, president and CEO of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM), recent Houghton graduate Julian Cook, and Luis Noda, Chief International Relations Officer at Food for the Hungry.

This year’s theme of “War, Conflict, and Violence: Stories of Hope” was chosen based on feedback the college received after last year’s Symposium. When asked about the subject’s immediate relevance for Houghton campus, Kiiti responded: “This is an important topic because the impact of war, conflict, and violence is tremendous on human life and development–affecting communities in a multiplicity of ways…Because war, conflict and violence impact so many areas of life, they require holistic and interdisciplinary responses.  This is at the core of Houghton’s mission of a Christian education in the liberal arts and sciences.”

The talks and workshops facilitated by this years’ Faith and Justice Symposium will provide Houghton campus with different contexts through which to view today’s tumultuous world. Horton expressed his hope “that students here use this [symposium] as a time to expand their ‘bubble,’ build international connections, and strengthen their understanding of hope.”

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News

Trouble with Peacekeeping Bases in South Sudan

United Nations peacekeepers are struggling to stop a humanitarian catastrophe in South Sudan after hundreds of civilians were killed last week by anti-government forces. Attempting to escape a conflict between government and rebel forces that is growing increasingly ethnic in nature, up to 22,000 civilians are seeking refuge within the U.N. base in the city of Bentiu. Water and sanitary facilities, however, are running low and peacekeepers fear that hundreds more could die within days as a result of these conditions.

Courtesy of www.france24.com
Courtesy of www.france24.com

The U.N. reports that on April 15 and 16, hundreds of people were massacred in Bentiu after rebel forces took the town from government forces in a conflict that first began in the summer of 2013. In one mosque alone, the rebels are accused of killing up to 200 people who had sought shelter there from the violence. The Washington Post reported that a top U.N. aid official described how “piles and piles” of bodies littered the streets, the mosque, and even hospitals during the rebel rampage. Currently, U.N. peacekeepers are helping to collect the bodies throughout Bentiu.

Violence in South Sudan, a volatile country that recently voted for independence from Sudan in 2011, erupted after President Salva Kiir accused his vice president, Riek Machar, of attempting a coup in July 2013. Machar was subsequently dismissed as vice president and now leads a rebel group seeking to overthrow Kiir’s government. Exacerbating the conflict, however, is the growing importance of ethnicity in determining who is friend or foe. President Kiir is an ethnic Dinka while Machar is a Nuer. Al-Jazeera reports that in Bentiu, the capital of the ironically named Unity province where the recent massacre occurred, one can find numerous ethnic groups, including Dinka, Nuer, Darfuri, and Misseriya Arabs. Insecurities regarding whether one’s neighbor is a potential enemy for being a different ethnicity is thus polarizing the city, resulting in thousands of people fleeing the possibility of future massacres.

In an attempt to protect civilians from reprisal attacks throughout the country, U.N. peacekeepers have allowed thousands to seek refuge within their bases. While attempting to ensure safety for these civilians, however, the results are mixed. Reuters reports that after the mainly Nuer rebels seized Bentiu, Dinka residents of the town of Bor in South Sudan’s Jonglei state attacked a U.N. base that sheltered up to 5,000 mostly Nuer people. Some 58 people died and 98 were injured after the Dinka had deceived the peacekeepers into believing that their protest was peaceful before opening fire on the base.

Furthermore, sanitation and water supplies within the bases are being stretched thin as more and more civilians arrive to seek refuge by the day. Tony Lanzer, the U.N.’s representative in South Sudan, stated that the base in Bentiu only had one liter of water per person available per day. Additionally, a growing public health crisis is emerging as sanitary facilities can no longer sustain the growing number of people inside the bases. Some 350 people, for example, are forced to share one toilet. Raphael Gorgeu, the head of Doctors Without Borders in South Sudan, warns that people will die inside Bentiu’s U.N. base within days because of the bleak water and sanitation situation.

Prospects for a quick resolution to the conflict in South Sudan are nil. Reuters reports that a January ceasefire between the belligerent parties has never taken hold. Meanwhile, the East African IGAD group has attempted to organize peace talks. The recent massacre, however, has led to the postponement of these talks until April 28. How this conflict will end is uncertain, but for a multiethnic country with one of the world’s lowest standards of living, one can assume that a successful resolution will not come quickly or easily.

 

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News

War in South Sudan

South Sudan is the newest country in the world, born in July of 2011. For the first time in history people were able to go to the polls and over 99% of them voted for freedom. It was a time of joy and excitement as people looked forward to living in a free and prosperous country. But it was not to be. For much of the past 50 years the black southern Sudanese have been at war with the Arabs of northern Sudan – over 2 million lives have been lost. Having a common enemy forced the southerners to unite. But now the common enemy is no longer there and they have turned on themselves.

To understand South Sudan it is important to realize it is made up of over 90 ethnic groups – each having their own identity and speaking their own language. The largest group by far is the Dinka, numbering about 3 million people. The second largest is the Nuer, numbering over 1 million. When the new government was formed these two groups immediately dominated the new administration. The President of the country is Salva Kiir, a Dinka. The Vice President is Riek Machar, a Nuer. These two ethnic groups have similar cultural backgrounds. They are both pastoralist societies who love their cattle. But over the centuries they have fought each other for cattle and access to pasture and water. Sadly they have brought these longstanding enmities into the new government.

Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org
Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

Many western countries have come to help get this country started. South Sudan is a country with great potential, having large quantities of oil, gold, wildlife and arable land. Juba, the southern capital, has become a boomtown with expatriate organizations struggling to find housing. When I visited there last year I saw apartments going for $6000 a month and offices renting for $80,000 a year. Money has poured in to help prop up the new government, but much of it has disappeared into the private accounts of corrupt politicians. South Sudan is presently rated as one of the three most corrupt countries in the entire world.

Several months ago President Kiir decided to do something about it and dismissed most of the ministers in his government – this included his Vice President Machar and the other Nuer ministers. This caused ill feelings and in December fighting erupted in the capital Juba. Each politician had his own unit of trained bodyguards made up of either Dinka or Nuer soldiers and they started fighting each other. The fighting quickly spread and engulfed the town of Juba. The Dinka soon controlled the town, but actively pursued and killed Nuer people. The opposite happened in other towns where Nuer dominated and they killed Dinka people. Many civilians fled to the various UN compounds for safety. The UN compound in Juba is protecting over 20,000 people who are camping on the premises.

The fighting has become increasingly ugly across Jonglei province with armed militias killing anyone of the opposing ethnic group – often targeting women, children and old people. They are even entering hospitals and shooting sick people in their beds. The latest figures estimate that over 10,000 people have been killed and over 700,000 people are displaced – hiding in the bush without adequate food and water. Even humanitarian groups trying to supply emergency aid have been attacked and been forced to withdraw their services.

There have been ongoing peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Initially these were heading nowhere as each side continued to fight. But a peace agreement has now been signed by negotiators on both sides. It is well worded and demands an immediate cessation of hostilities. However, many of the militias operate in remote areas and there is no central control over these fighting groups. So fighting continues. Word needs to get out to these militias with orders to stop fighting. There also needs to be guarantees of safety so the humanitarian organizations can get into the country and offer immediate aid.

Civilians are fleeing to Uganda at the rate of over 1000 a day – joining the 50,000 refugees that are already there. Most of them are walking and are in bad physical shape. The high numbers have seriously stretched the ability of the humanitarian organizations to feed and house them. The refugees interviewed have no faith in the peace agreement and many are stating that they want to live in Uganda and never return to South Sudan.

Sadly the atrocities and killings have renewed deep hatreds between the ethnic groups and created a desire for revenge. A diplomat stated that this fighting has set the country back 20 years. Fortunately there is a strong church in South Sudan. The church leaders are united and pleading with their people to forgive and live in peace. Forgiveness is their only hope.

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News

International Delegates Talk Syrian Peace

As international delegates arrived in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday, January 21, doubts persisted concerning whether they would be able to bring an end to Syria’s three-year-old civil war.

Courtesy of radioaustralia.net.au
Courtesy of
radioaustralia.net.au

Sponsored by the United States, Russia, and the United Nations, the peace accords, known as “Geneva 2,” will bring together officials from Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government along with the Syrian National Council (SNC) an opposition bloc consisting of various groups seeking to overthrow the Assad regime. However, numerous groups engaged in the conflict have refused to attend, including many Islamist fighters who seek to turn Syria into an Islamic emirate. Complications further expanded as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, under the lobbying influence of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, withdrew an invitation to Iran, one of Assad’s main financial and materials supporters.

According to Reuters, Ban faced immense pressure from both Washington and the SNC, the latter threatening to boycott the talks and further obstruct any chances of conflict resolution. Moreover, Iran rejected the caveat that it had to accept the guidelines of a previous peace conference held in Geneva in 2012 that called for President Assad to step down and allow a transitional administration to take over. These peace talks failed after the U.S. and Russia could not agree on Assad’s post-conflict, political role. Washington Post reports that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said excluding Iran is not a “catastrophe,” and said Russia and the other countries at the conference will still push for a productive dialogue between the warring factions.

Further complications arising as peace talks begin include the revelation of widespread torture and systematic killing committed by the Assad régime against 11,000 detainees in Syrian government custody. Al-Jazeera reports that thousands of photographs smuggled out of Syria and examined by a team of war crimes prosecutors and forensic experts show emaciated bodies marked with signs of brutal beatings, strangulation, and other forms of torture. The photographs were taken by a photographer for the military police who had secretly defected to the opposition. While both sides of Syria’s civil war have been accused of war crimes, this evidence is the most definitive proof of large-scale killing on the part of the régime to date. According to U.S State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf, one reason “Geneva 2” needs to be fruitful is because “the situation on the ground is so horrific that we need to get a political transition in place and…we need to get the Assad régime out of power.” Reuters reports that the former chief prosecutor of a war crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone, Desmond de Silva, commented that “some of the images we saw were absolutely reminiscent of people who came out of Belsen and Auschwitz.” It is not yet known how the revelations of these photographs will influence the demands of other negotiators, such as Russia, or the SNC.

Meanwhile, as “Geneva 2” begins, warfare continues in Syria. It is estimated that 130,000 people have died along with 22 million being displaced. Spillover from the conflict has also affected neighboring countries. In Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, a suicide bombing occurred in front of the headquarters of Hezbollah, a Shi’a group that actively assists Assad and militarily adheres to the Alawite offshoot of Shi’a Islam. Meanwhile, Iraq faces political strife as al-Qaeda-linked groups seek greater influence amongst the country’s Sunni population.  Currently, Iraqi government forces and tribal fighters are trying to expel al-Qaeda fighters, staunchly opposed to Iraq’s Shi’a-dominated government, from the Sunni enclave in the country’s west. Consequently, as the conflict between Sunni-backed rebels in Syria and the Alawite-majority government continues, sectarian divides deepen further throughout the Middle East.

 

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Opinions Two Views

Two Views: Would Widespread Economic and Political Freedom Create Global Peace?

Among a certain subset of people in the world, there is a strong belief that the primary requirement for “world peace”—that nebulous phrase used by politicians, college freshmen, and contestants on the Miss America pageant alike—is freedom. Primarily what they are talking about in these instances is political and economic freedom guaranteed by individual countries. I am not one of those people, and this is why.

2view-sarahsIt is important to note that a given group of people with political freedom depends largely on the values that they hold. For example, in 2005 Hezbollah was elected to power in southern Lebanon. Considered a terrorist organization by the United States government, this is hardly the type of political party to promote peace in the Middle East. The political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the so-called “Freedom and Justice Party”, was also elected by a large majority to power in 2012. (Subsequently, President Morsi was, along with other members of the Muslim Brotherhood, removed from power and charged with murder). While both of these parties were elected through fair elections within the last ten years, neither of them hold values which would increase global peace.

The other freedom suggested as a requirement for world peace is economic freedom. This is more promising. Probably the best example of an international free trade arrangement is the EU (European Union). No country in the EU has gone to war with another EU member country—this is quite impressive, especially considering the previous history of the continent. This phenomenon extends beyond the European Union to democratic countries in general. Researchers theorize that the reason for this is that in a country with an open economic market, it becomes unnecessary and unprofitable for countries to go to war as resources are easily distributed between countries. War is no longer a necessity to re-distribute scarce resources but a distraction from more profitable methods of production.

On the other hand, it is possible that the more or less widespread global peace we in the democratic nations of the world have been experiencing is a fluke in the annals of history. (More or less, because a majority of countries in the world are currently or have recently been involved in some type of armed conflict). The reasons that global peace might not be sustainable even with widespread global economic and political freedom come down to the age-old reasons for conflict which currently democratic and economically free governments have at the moment been able to avoid—land and the resources associated with land.

Although the world as a whole is potentially able to support a significantly larger population than it currently is doing, the essential problem is that the largest percentage of increase in population will occur in regions that are less able to support a large population, while a decline is projected to occur in regions more able to support a larger population. For example, the latest UN projections predict the population of Africa will double, while that of Europe will decline by 14%.

Historically, a frequent source of conflict is a large population of young people with less access to resources. The inequality of consumption globally is well established—statistics such as, the 12% of the world’s population which lives in the United States and Europe accounts for 60% of global private consumption, while the third of global population which lives in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for only 3.2%.

Not only is inequality widespread and the global population rapidly increasing, there is evidence that water will in the quite near future become a resource lacking in many areas of world. Less than one percent of the water on the planet is usable for humans and animals. According to the UN, by 2030 nearly half of the world will be living under areas of high water stress.

My purpose in stating all these statistics is not to scare anyone or to present an overly pessimistic view of the world. And I do believe that economic and political freedoms are beneficial and even necessary for a country to live happily and well. But they are not enough. Freedom is what you make of it, and conflict is not something that can always be prevented.

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News

Saudia Arabia Refuses Security Council Seat

For the first time in the history of the United Nations, a member has denied an offer to take a Security Council seat. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia bluntly refused its elected position on Friday, October 18, citing its frustrations with what it perceives as the U.N.’s inability to resolve conflicts such as the Syrian civil war.

Courtesy of jpost.com
Courtesy of jpost.com

According to Al-Jazeera, the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated that “[a]llowing the ruling regime in Syria to kill its people and burn them with chemical weapons in front of the entire world and without any deterrent or punishment is clear proof and evidence of the U.N. Security Council’s inability to perform its duties and shoulder its responsibilities.” Saudi Arabia is an active supporter of Sunni Muslim rebels attempting to overthrow the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Alawites, an offshoot of Shi’a Islam. The Kingdom has also expressed its frustrations regarding the international community not punishing Assad’s regime enough after a chemical weapons attack killed over 1,400 civilians last August. Reuters reports that the director of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal, finds an agreement made by both the United States and Russia that requires Syria to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile to avoid punishment militarily “lamentable.” This agreement was approved unanimously by the Security Council.

Because no country has ever refused an offer to sit on the Security Council, the U.N. is unsure on how to resolve this predicament. The Washington Post quotes Gerard Araud, France’s U.N. Ambassador as saying “there is no agreed procedure, because it is the first time that it happens.” Currently, it is thought that the Asia group, a group in the U.N. that selects the Arab member to the Security Council, will have to select a new candidate for approval by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly to take the seat. This scenario, however, will only happen once Saudi Arabia sends an official notification to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Though Saudi Arabia has been boisterous in denying its Security Council offer, Ban has yet to receive an official rejection notification from the Kingdom. Thus, the current view of the U.N. is that Saudi Arabia, despite its rhetoric, has taken its seat on the Security Council for the next two years until an official rejection statement is sent.

The Security Council is a 15-member body that decides the fate of U.N. resolutions regarding issues around the world. There are five permanent members that hold veto power over any and all resolutions: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China. There must be no vetoes from any of the permanent members in order for a resolution to be approved. The ten other members are elected for two year terms. Although they do not hold veto power, these members can influence debates and offer insight on the benefits and flaws of a resolution. After their terms are over, these countries step down from the Security Council and new members are elected. Besides Saudi Arabia, other newly selected members of the Security Council include Lithuania, Nigeria, Chile, and Chad.

 

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News

Finally an Agreement on Syria?

Hopes are rising as possible breakthroughs are underway in the deadlock gripping world powers concerning the Syrian civil war. This is a result of a possible United Nations resolution calling for international control of the Syrian government’s chemical weapons stockpile currently being considered.

Mideast_Syria-08c3c
Courtesy of www.washingtonpost.com

During talks at the recent G-20 meeting of the top twenty world economic powers, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in an offhand comment that Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad could avoid American airstrikes if his government handed over “every single bit” of its chemical weapons stockpile to the international community. Later, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia had taken Kerry’s comments into consideration and would propose a “feasible, clear and concrete plan” that would focus on Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal.

After the deaths of over 1,400 civilians in a suburb in the Syrian capital Damascus on August 21, U.S. President Barack Obama threatened limited military strikes against the regime of President Assad as punishment. Obama, however, has mustered little international support as Britain, a close U.S. ally, voted against participating in airstrikes against Assad. French President Francoise Hollande supports military action against Syria, but is reluctant to intervene without greater support from the international community. Domestically, Obama faces an uphill battle in his bid to win congressional support before authorizing military strikes. After 12 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, many Americans oppose more involvement in another Middle Eastern conflict.

Some countries do support U.S. airstrikes in Syria. Saudi Arabia, a vocal critic of Assad and supplier of weapons to Syrian rebels, implored the Arab League to endorse airstrikes. Turkey, a one-time close ally of Assad but now a supporter of his overthrow, has also called for airstrikes. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin is a staunch opponent of outside intervention in Syria, warning of the serious consequences of what could follow if the U.S. follows through on its threats against Assad.

Syria is a main purchaser of Russian weaponry and is Moscow’s last Cold War-era ally in the Middle East. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and with the power to veto any and all sanctions, Russia has rejected all Western-backed resolutions that condemn Assad’s regime and call for his resignation. Instead, Putin has called for dialogue between the Assad regime and the rebels seeking to overthrow him. Moscow also endorses the creation of a transitional government that includes Assad. Consequently, Washington and Moscow have been at constant odds over creating a unified international response to the Syrian civil war. Plans for peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland between the Syrian government and rebel officials collapsed and for much of the G-20 meeting the U.S. and Russia remained divided, particularly regarding airstrikes.

But with this potential resolution calling for Assad to hand over Syria’s chemical weapons, the permanent members of the Security Council, the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, and China, seem to be inching closer to an agreement. France is adding on to Russian proposals by calling for a clause that specifically condemns the chemical attacks. Assad, seeking to avoid potential U.S. airstrikes, has accepted the Russian resolution. If Assad fails to comply with the resolution, however, his regime will, again, face the threat of military strikes in consequence.

Since its beginning in March 2011, the civil war in Syria has claimed over 100,000 lives.  Nearly a third of the country’s population has been displaced and millions of Syrians have fled abroad as refugees.

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Opinions

The World on the Mend

The U.S. government has troops deployed in over 150 countries in the world. We are actively engaged throughout the Middle East, North and Central Africa and some South American nations. In the 20th century alone, we witnessed two world wars and a handful of genocides including that of the Armenians, the Jews, the Tutsis and many more. Since the 21st century we’ve seen some of the worst terrorist attacks in history as well as the rise of the Arab Spring. Last but not least we can’t overlook the increase of mass shootings with Aurora, the Sikh temple and most recently, Sandy Hook.

Courtesy of http://www.theatlanticcities.com/
Courtesy of http://www.theatlanticcities.com/

How many times have you thought something along the lines of, “What is wrong with humanity?” or said the classic: “Jesus is going to come back and judge this world.” But is the world actually getting worse? Is it even as bad as it always has been? Or could it possibly be  that the world is actually becoming a better, more beautiful and peaceful place? Statistics are suggesting that the world is actually on the mend.

In a recent editorial about gun control I suggested that violent crime rates in the U.S. have dropped nearly 50 percent over the last 20 years. The U.S. is not alone in this positive trend. Crime rates have been steadily decreasing worldwide. According to Steven Pinker, a prominent Harvard psychologist, statistics have revealed a dramatic reduction in war deaths, family violence, racism, rape, and murder.

Pinker states in one of his three books on the history of violence, “The decline of violence may be the most significant and least appreciated development in the history of our species.” According to Pinker—whose findings are based on peer-reviewed studies—the number of people killed in battle per hundred thousand has dropped over a thousand fold since before the common era. In pre-industrial societies there was an average of 500 killed per hundred thousand. In 19th century Europe the death toll dropped to less than 70 per hundred thousand. In the 20th century, even with two world wars and numerous genocides, the rate dropped to less than 60. Currently there are less than three-tenths of a person per hundred thousand killed in combat.

Sixty years ago there were less than 20 democracies; now there are over a hundred. Authoritarian nations have dropped from 90 in the late 70’s to less than 25 today. Murder rates have dropped over all and especially within families; the rate of husbands murdering their wives has gone down from 1.4 to 0.8 per hundred thousand, and wives murdering their husbands have gone down from 1.2 to 0.2. Rape has dropped 80 percent over the last 40 years and lynching has gone from a rate of 150 per year to zero. Blacks, women, and gays are steadily gaining rights.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the amount of undernourished people in the world is steadily decreasing. Life expectancy is higher than ever. Modern medicine never ceases to surpass expectations, finding cures for diseases and new ways for operating on the human body.

As a Christian, this seems to be a problem. Isn’t the world supposed to be on a steady decline toward another “Sodom and Gomorrah” situation? According to St. John’s Book of Revelation there will be wars and rumors of wars in the end times. In the streets, the blood of the martyrs will be running up to the necks of the horses. Then Christ returns and saves us all. This sort of talk is common in a Christian milieu. But what do we say when faced with the evidence of a world that is becoming increasingly better?

God vowed to destroy Nineveh, but when he saw them change he then changed his mind. At the time that St. John was writing the book of Revelation, Caesar was lighting his parties with human torches. Humanity was in a pretty bad place. Now we live in a society with unlimited food, education, and commodities. The trends are suggesting that the rest of the world is quickly “stepping out of history” as Fukuyama wrote. The world is becoming a better and more beautiful and peaceful place.

As Christians are we going to continue, as Jonah did, to beg God to rain down fire and brimstone? Or are we going to accept that the world is getting better? This is not to say that we live in a utopia; there is still a lot of work to be done. But it is nowhere near being beyond redemption.