Only the Illusion

The cycle of war continues its familiar path, with memory its first casualty. The demonisation of enemies. The fabricated pretexts. The casualties covered up. The costs hidden off budget. The lights always at the end of tunnels.

There is no democracy, only the illusion, only despotic militarism on "both" sides of this apparently black-and-white, right-and-wrong, binary struggle.

The protest against military aggression and terroristic behaviours must begin with ourselves, where we feel it every day. Resistance through solidarity. We are being distracted with false patriotic feelings, ignoring that those turning up on our doorsteps are fleeing the same horrors we are now experiencing. Peace will not occur until we begin to loosen the stranglehold of militarism, until we reject the narratives of nationalism and the naturalities of borders. Not until we are able to engage with the complexities of a system of interlocking interests which entrench militarism, warfare, and the demonisation of so many others suffering at the hands of both ourselves and our common threats.