Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

A brotherhood of man seems such a dream at the moment, and as for sharing the world, forget it. We are so far removed from a world where we can live as one, in fact, we have very little tolerance for the views of others and seem hell-bent on pursuing our own selfish ideology.

We identify with religions, political parties, football teams, countries and so on, but we never identify with the one thing that binds us together – being humans.

At the core of all religions is compassion for our fellow man, but this has been lost among so much dogma. In the 21st century religions are still being run by men. Not just any men, but rich and powerful men. Men who are afraid of change.

In Christianity you are told to love thee neighbour, but not if he is gay. Muslims are being told to love only other Muslims, and now Buddhists are starting to follow suit. In Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Buddhists have grown intolerant of Muslims and are burning their houses and even killing them. This is from a religion based on non-violence.

However, the religions are not to blame. It is the fanatical people using religions for their own personal ideology that are causing all the problems. These fanatics are within all religions and they are slowly turning the world into a dangerous place. These people are filled with only hatred and ignorance.

Where will it all end? Nobody knows the answer to this, but sooner or later people have to stand up and say enough is enough. We cannot survive in a world driven by killing, fear and discrimination. By sitting on the fence and becoming immune to the violence around us, we moderate people are going to become part of the problem. The moderate people within the various religions, and these are thankfully the majority, have to speak out sooner rather than later. Tolerance is the only answer.

I envisage a world where we all have tolerance for others. A world where we accept difference and not fear it. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I hope and pray I am not the only one.