Scoring for humanity

I read today yet another powerful post by Rachel of North London. Many times over the past year she has moved me to tears and many times to share her outrage.

Do they read her in Downing Street, I wonder? How can they not be moved by her penetrating coherent arguments, her tenacity, her compassion? She is the child in the crowd who is crying out that the Emperor is naked.

One of the points she made today really resonated with me, because it is the very thought that spurred me to start this blog.

Rachel wrote: “I think is the duty of every man and woman alive to seek justice and healing, to work for peace and reconciliation, to root out and report abuse and extremism, and to challenge and speak out what they find to be cruel and unfair. I do not think it matters what I call God, or whether I call on no God at all but instead look to a common humanity…”

Another thing that struck me quite forcibly was the reminder that "every day in Iraq is 7th July". This thought strikes me every single time I hear of another bombing with reports of scores dead.

Why do we not stop what we are doing, just once, as we have done with our minutes of silence for the victims of the London bombings - why do we not just once all stop what we are doing and step out of our offices and houses and schools on to our pavements in all our cities and stand, just once, for the people of Iraq?

What holds us back? Is it that we think a particular message will go out because of this? Perhaps that by commemorating somewhere else's dead we will be in some way be betraying our own?

I think we do need to make this kind of stand but how could one organise this, without it being taken over by groups with a different agenda? Think what it could mean if we showed the grace to make a grassroots gesture like this here, where we live in relative safety? No one would be marching anywhere, after all so we shouldn't need insurance or Health & Safety approval, or the cancellation of police leave.

Maybe we need a rock singer or a rapper to put a rhythm to this thought...

Above all nations, and above all the cliques of government, and above all extremists...is humanity.

We'll prove it yet.