Two words may sound alike in pronunciation and be spelled closely alike but are not the same. Bubbles and rubbles sound alike in pronunciation and look almost alike in spelling but are two different things. One notable thing in life is about the fact that no matter how sophisticated are our weapons of war, as long as they are manmade, their efficacy without causing damage or harm to the handler would be dependent solely on wisdom. I have overheard people talk about the strongest and the richest countries in the world, but with no connection to how wise these countries are. It would have been a different ball game if I overheard people talk about the wisest country in the world. The truth remains that whatever it is that power gets, it will take wisdom to preserve it, and the use of power in the absence of wisdom is a disaster.
There is no gainsaying the fact that all nations of the world, no matter how strong, wealthy, weak or poor they are, have to live together in this same planet called the earth. The truth is also absolute with regard to the dimension and space that the earth covers compared with what the waters cover. With all the technological advancement in the world, the best that has come out of these breakthroughs ends up as the enemy of the maker, who is man. Man is yet to discover a way of adding to the land mass that the earth is made up of. In other words, what this limitation reveals to us is that no matter how powerful or strong, we must all live on the same earth, and possibly in different worlds.
There are so many worlds, which are the making of man, and efforts invested towards maintaining the balance of power are the root cause of unhealthy competition with deadly weapons such as the nuclear bomb.
Strategies employed to get desires met, especially among the superpower countries, are to say the least selfish and intrusive. Looking through the lens of the principles of isolationism, liberal hegemony, nationalism, and realism, one unchangeable and indisputable truth is that justice is restrained, and without restraint, there can be no peace.
The rubbles are manmade and will remain on a particular spot until an external force is applied against them in terms of evacuation, whereas the bubbles, which in the sense of use is referred to as a good or fortunate situation that is isolated from reality or unlikely to last. The cost of war is huge especially when viewed from the angle of the precious lives that are at stake. Precious things in war are turned into rubble which the sole aim of gaining what is not better in value than the bubble.
Wars are manmade. They are not orchestrated by spirits or from another planet. These are our problems and the solutions should not be far-fetched. In a system where there is no hierarchy, every member involved has the tendency to maintain the balance of power and, in doing so, is the proliferation of nuclear weapons. As long as the powers that be continue to view power as the ultimate, not minding the limitations, the temporal nature, and the negative effects of absolute power on people and nations, or healthy competitions will not abate, and as long as that continues, nations will be restive.
What is trending globally is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and this brings to the fore the connection between the domestic problems and the foreign. The handling of the January 6th insurrection against Capitol Hill of the United States of America has, to a large extent, and will continue to reshape the democratic impressions received by the nations of the world, and this is instructive and a clarion call on the United States of America to take a break for a reassessment of the cause and effects of the unprecedented attack on Capitol Hill.
People easily forget things and wave them aside easily when it is in their power to do so, but point accusing fingers at others who have the tendency of doing exactly what they have done or are fond of doing, a double standard you may wish to say. There is no point hiding what cannot be hidden, and that is the truth that America is believed to be the only superpower that has the right of invading other countries whether with disregard for their sovereignty as long as the goal is to advance democracy.
Democracy is a product, and that product is a source of concern, especially going by the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6th. 2021 as masterminded by the former President Trump. It is time to choose to separate the wheat from the chaff. It is a possibility. For the nations of the world to experience lasting and uninterrupted peace, there has to be a political will that is unprecedented from the United States of America.
No more mistaking the bubbles for the rubbles. It is nationalism and realism over intrusive imperialism. The day is far spent. We should do the work of building a peaceful world when it is day, for the night comes when no one will be able to do any work.
God bless the world. Shalom.
Samuel ‘Tunji Adeyanju
Photo of Twin Towers destruction from history.com
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