Hatred is the most basic and tyrannical of instincts that can turn men into creatures who will destroy without hesitation or remorse. They’ve acquired contempt for human life and a predilection for taking it. These acts are committed out of vengeance and the violence itself is seen as a necessity. There are no laws or restraining influences, they’ve lost their inner moral values and they’ve become animals. The casualty lists grow daily. There is nothing to show for the blood being spilled other than it may be breaking the confidence of the people.

I’ve asked myself if such action arouses a continued psychopathic violence in those involved? Are all men inherently violent and does it only need an excuse to vent such homicidal instincts? I suspect evil is inherent in every man and that the devil dwells in us all and under certain circumstances we lose morality. I’ve also asked myself if such atrocities are to some extent a reflection of mankind?

Much has been said and written about the peace process with regard to Israel but you know my viewpoint and you know what the pictures portray. Nothing has changed and nothing will change. Blood will continually seep over the land. There is nothing that can be done until the mindset changes on both sides. The road forward is filled with many bumps and potholes. It will not be smooth. Nothing changes.

Oh yes, the pictures have shown and continue to show great upheaval and much sadness. War, death, accidents and famine will be as much a part of this xt century as it was of the last. Many will not survive the encroaching madness and I doubt whether it can be escaped.

I look beyond what I’ve seen and carry in my mind of Man’s achievements and innate greatness, his strengths and adaptability. I brood over the pictures hearsay and hints and shadowy portrayals and I look at people like Bill Gates and I wonder if he has any notion of the future and what he and his various companies will set in motion. I often think about the technological changes I have seen and the affect such changes will continue to have on mankind. I also think of the destruction such technology will bring about through mismanagement and deliberate oversights and I wonder why mankind has to push everything to its limit without first understanding the power he has created?

I also look at Glenn and wish I could have joined him to look upon the beauty of this earth from space and I wonder what he would make of some of our future achievements? I doubt whether anyone realises what exactly lies ahead of us in space. Nor would they have any conception of the life that abounds some of which will be as deadly to us as we will be to it. The pictures have shown startling truths, revealing hidden secrets of knowledge, igniting ever new secrets in the crucibles and athanors of time. The Universe is forever expanding and contracting, creating and is spiralling into a never-ending vast array of universes. This earth is just a grain of sand among millions/billions/zillions of grains. It surpasses human understanding.

Yes, we are Gods, we have the minds of Gods yet we abuse and will continue to abuse the powers we have been given. If anything, the pictures have shown that man will remain vulnerable because of what he is. There are no guarantees I can give you regarding his future. It will be in his own hands. May be he’ll learn that his Humanity will be his greatest asset.

Because I’m stuck in this time and this place I try to believe what my mind is showing me but I find it difficult. Yet sometimes I allow myself to dream of what is to come. Some nights I look up at the stars and I really wish I could have been born a hundred, may be two hundred years hence. I really wish I could be on the ships that will leave these shores and join those who will travel to the New Worlds. I truly believe, given the choice, I would follow that pathway to the stars …