The Changed World

By Father N.J. Forde

Father Nick Forde is well known in the Prince George community and is now in the Barriere- Coldwater  area.  He says the activities in Afghanistan are very close to home for thepeople in his parish as many of the troops now stationed in Afghanistan  helped fight the forest fires  in Barriere a couple of years ago.  He submits this special collection of thoughts:

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When a number of parishioners and myself gathered for the celebration of Mass this morning, a section of St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians was read for our consideration. In it was an interesting observation, “The present form of this world is passing away.”  The philosopher Heraclitus many years before observed that change is an ever-present factor – you can’t step into the same river twice.  As our bodies change constantly so does the world around us.  It is extremely obvious when the beautiful Fall shades cover our landscape.

The barbaric act of the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York five years ago, killing close to 3000 innocent people, has brought about an enormous change to everyday living.  I give full marks to the various forms of media, which attempted to demonstrate many of the changes in the world as a consequence of that dastardly event. 

One awesome change that has occurred is the way in which the modern war is conducted.  Clearly, smaller and lesser groups cannot wage war successfully against powerful nations equipped with every possible killing device known to man.   The smaller group has realized that it can cause devastation by acts of terrorism.  This is not a new concept.  It has been used very often since the end of World War I.  I cite Ireland, Cypress, Spain, Turkey, Kashmir and Sri Lanka as a few countries where small groups have adopted this insidious method of warfare in an attempt to achieve their ends. 

I believe that most objective historians would agree that the problems of the Middle East are immense and were brought about by treaties and understandings based on assumptions and misunderstanding.  The world was carved up by Britain, United States, France and Italy following World War I.   When the boundaries of Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia were established and governing families were installed by the Treaty of Paris in 1919, little was known about the enormous problems that would ensue. 

Into a caldron fell the legitimate aspirations of the Zionist Movement, the apprehension of the Arab World and the new entity known as oil.  This caldron got further filled as a consequence of Nazi atrocity, and the total fragmenting of the imperialistic world.  At the same time as this caldron bubbled, the Cold War between the West and the USSR became extremely intense.  The caldron was bound to bubble over.

Unfortunately, warnings went unheeded.  In 1923 Lord Baldwin envisaged an agreement whereby the State of Israel could be established provided the rights of the Palestinians were secured.  

Canada is very much part of this changed world and by agreement our Canadian Armed Forces are endeavouring to establish peace in Afghanistan.  These men and women face the most intense form of warfare that our Canadian Armed Forces have experienced since World War II and Korea.  It is one thing to be a peacekeeper.  It is quite a different thing to have to engage war against an international body with unlimited financial resources, most of which gained from poppy fields.  At present, the most impacting weapons our forces have to face are acts of terrorism involving suicide bombers and explosive devices to kill and maim at random.

Thus we live in this violently changed world where simple people can’t send their children to school, visit the hospital, celebrate a wedding or bury the dead without a violent intrusion.  How can this dreadful situation be changed?  It will be changed when the words of Jesus are respected and taken to heart.  The first commandment is the love of God, and the second commandment is like it - the love of the neighbour for God’s sake.  This is the message that humanity has to learn so that a blessed change can take place. 

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