The Same Sky…The Same Moon

 

   While reviewing posts on the morning news briefs on my computer, I came across a quote that caught my attention. “Every place on this planet, every living being on the planet… we all live under the same sky and the same moon each and every day.” But the article went on to say that while we all may live under the same sky, we certainly are not all alike.

   It has been very difficult to hear the recent reports each day about the number of people who have died due to the earthquakes, a natural event, and then have the next story about the number of people being killed in a war raging just a few miles up the road, led by a person whose primary goal seems to be the desire to rule the world.

   And then we have another story about hot air balloons moving across the country or a disease that may have been deliberately spread around the world to reduce the number of world inhabitants.

   This story that got my attention this early Saturday morning was about a school district, in Florida, forced to remove a book about Roberto Clemente a famous black baseball play. I wonder if they have removed the books about Adolf Hitler.

   Or perhaps, if they have not been removed already, books about dinosaurs and early life before humans occupied the planet. I’ll check that out the next time I go to the library. But although it is fairly common knowledge that dinosaurs do not exist anymore, there are some humans today who still exhibit some of those early prehistoric traits.

   The same sky, the same moon. Around the world we all see the same thing, but why are we all so different? I often wonder if planet earth is or was the only one of its kind. The universe is huge and tucked away out there in a distance space could be a place where the inhabitants could be experiencing similar struggles. Now, they may not look like us.   But the likelihood is that we will never know as our current time and daily activities are wrapped up in other issues that we are told are so much more important.

   As each day passes, I am more convinced that things are not going to end well for planet earth. As we study the history and struggles of past generations, one thing is very obvious. In most cases the results of those conflicts have not made things better. As a world, we are not able to work together to ensure that the planet will survive for many more centuries to come. It will not end well for anyone.  

   There are some very smart people who live around the world, but we are not able or willing to share thoughts and ideas that could lead to success. Is it because of the color of their skin, that language they speak, whether they are male of female or what they might believe and value? And as a result, there is potentially so much wasted energy and potential knowledge. And instead of building on history, there are those who take history off the shelf, never to be rediscovered again.

   The attempts to unite the world, i.e. the League of Nations and the United Nations, have struggled in their attempts to get nations to work together. These attempts resulted because of wars and military conflicts, a way and attempt to promote peace.  But the battle now facing not only our country but all others around the world is the changes occurring to the planet itself. Healthy air to breathe, safe drinking water, and nutritious foods cannot be gained with guns and bombs. But unfortunately there are still too many under the same sky and the same moon who believe that is the only way save their world.

   Until we are willing to put aside what we think are our differences and find areas upon which to agree, no matter how small or insignificant it may appear, what was once the place we all saw the same sky and same moon  each day may one day become part of a history book we allowed to be taken off the shelf.