Peace and harmony are so easy to overlook and take for granted. Social cooperation and tranquillity can be obscured when robberies dominate daily news. Who can recognize peace when it seems war has been declared on law and order in the Cayman Islands? But for every crime there are thousands of acts of goodwill and kindness. For every murder, there are millions of life-affirming acts. We would all be better off if we take our eyes off the negative just long enough to see the good that is all around us.
Yes, the global economy is reeling from a perfect storm of greed, corruption and incompetence. Nonetheless, we still live in far better times than 99 per cent of the people who have ever lived did. With no hesitation, I’ll take 2012 over 1012 or 2012 BCE, and so should you.
Yes, the world’s environment is not well. Coral reefs are dying off, species are vanishing at a horrifying rate, pollution is everywhere, and we still haven’t collectively accepted the fact that clean air, water and soil is necessary for survival. There is reason for hope, however. Thanks to science, we understand more than ever about how the world works. We now know, or nearly know, how to live in ways that won’t doom the planet’s current ecosystem (the one we happen to depend on). The challenge before us is mostly about how to educate those in power and convince them that life and sustainability are preferable to death and destruction. While that is no easy mountain to climb, it’s encouraging to know that we have a chance.
Yes, one hears far too much grumbling and name calling in the Cayman Islands. A significant number of people seem to care a bit too much about place of birth, religious loyalties, and economic status. These few differences blind too many to the many things in common we all share. But that’s just the primate in us acting out. We can’t help but rank ourselves and others, to imagine great invisible walls between imaginary groups. It’s what we do. It’s who we are. Here’s the great news: Cayman—even with all its petty mumbling over nationalities, gods, and materialism—is remarkably peaceful and harmonious. It may not last forever, but for now Caymanians should be proud of the fact that they don’t fight civil wars in the streets, burn witches (Believe it or not, “witches” are still tortured and murdered in many societies around the world), blow up people based on religious affiliations, and while Cayman may not be a level playing field for all it is certainly no feudal state with all but a few trapped in dismal servitude with no chance of escape.
All things considered, Cayman is a peaceful society with an abundance of tolerance as shown by the actions of virtually all its people (even if not always in their words and thoughts). More than 100 nationalities are present in the Cayman Islands. Many religions are practiced here and almost all of them are hopelessly in intellectual conflict with one another. Undoubtedly there is an uncomfortable amount of frustration and resentment from the poor directed at the rich. But while some form of uprising is conceivable, violent revolution doesn’t seem to be in the cards. Cayman is at peace and seems likely to remain so, even as it struggles with very serious issues and challenges. Considering how violent and destructive so much of our world is today, this is something everyone in the Cayman Islands should celebrate.