by Ingrid Dalton                                                 USA                                                                04.11.2026

What if the world was a better place?

What if humanity woke up to its destruction and rose to its potential?

Civilizations rise and fall. They fall because of their arrogance, supremacy or abuse of power.
One would think that this millennium would prove us to have more civility and humanity; especially with better education and travel. One would think that more diversity and a better world view accompany modern man. One would think that what humanity experienced with atrocities throughout millennia would result in a better world. Instead, wars have become more brutal, with sophisticated weaponry led by so-called First World Countries. It is about greed and power.

What I find very disturbing is when people bring God, or better said religion, into the equation to justify their deeds. They speak of God’s punishments for all sorts of occurrences; on one side people speak of God as Love and on the other side as a God of wrath. In my humble opinion it is exactly this kind of rhetoric that provides division and unrest. If I, as a Christian, for example, believe in a loving God, then how can I agree to a God that punishes me? Isn’t it us who create our own punishments; when we knowingly and consciously commit a mistake and suffer the consequences, it is not God or a Higher Power that punishes us, it is we who by our actions pay for it. Maybe it’s because some Christians refer more to the Old Testament, which if not put in context is a rather dim scripture; where the New Testament when put in the right context is a scripture of hope.

And this is what is happening in the United States of America at this crucial crossroads in history. A radical right-wing (or fascist) government that supports atrocities, without consideration, in the name of God. For example, interfering in voting rights, racial discrimination, entering into wars without reason, interfering in other countries’ governments, dismantling alliances, destruction of the environment, still adhering to the death penalty and now adding a firing squad as a form of execution and streaming it for viewing. That is a barbaric display.

One could argue that inhabitants of a third world country are in worse shape than people in a first world country; it could be the opposite. It seems the more a civilization rises, the chance of a demise is inevitable. Not because a loving God or Creator is punishing man, but because of man’s chosen deeds that are incomprehensible.

What if mankind would practice more compassion, kindness, forgiveness, love and peace, what if we follow the Golden Rule – as you wish that others would do to you, do so do them? The world would be a better place to live.

Ingrid Dalton is a widow and retired. She lives with her two cats in Georgia, USA, and enjoys writing, traveling and spending time with friends and family.