Let’s do better

An Al Jazeera montage on the week of Megan Markle and Henry David’s engagement: What’s Happening in the World This Week

I’m very happy for Megan Markle and Henry David and wish them a life of love, joy, caring, service and happiness together. Meanwhile, these are other issues and what was also happening in the world this week. I’m awed by the creativity, innovation, human, emotional and scientific capacity of humanity. I’m awed by the beauty and at times both genius and simplicity of our creations. Know this: war is not necessary. That is not something ‘idealistic’, ‘naive’ or ‘hopeful’. It is a point of fact. War is one of the most inept, dysfunctional and non-utilitarian systems. In an age when we focus so much on ‘making things better’, ‘optimisation’, creating and achieving the best we can – isn’t it time we do away with this absurd anachronism and challenge it to the test of efficacy and impact?

What does work: a myriad of peacebuilding measures, from structural and institutional changes to operational interventions and peacebuilding measures to address conflicts and crisis; from peace education in schools to evolving and developing more inclusive and functional governance. No ‘magic wand’. No simple or simplistic ‘solution’ – like ‘war’ – that doesn’t work. A myriad of measures and steps – like in the evolution of the internet, medicine, and all science and human activity.

Let’s do better. We can – but we need you to help us do it.