Hobbes had the right of it.

Some people’s optimism for humanity never ceases to amaze me. Personally, I find it extremely hard to muster the kind of sanguinity (or apathy, depending on how you look at it.) that many people seem to display.

I can feel my cynicism and jadedness increase exponentially the more I learn about human history, psychology and the like. “Humanity” is beginning to disgust me. Our hypocrisy, our egos, our… propensity for sheer evil. Of course, I am aware of my own hypocrisy as I write this post, but still.

We’re doing human rights in school, and I was just reading about the failure of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda. About how the endless diplomatic pussy-footing caused the lives of countless Rwandans, and about how Bill Clinton (whom I do still greatly respect and admire), was so concerned about losing face in the aftermath of Mogadishu that he opposed any overt intervention by the UN. And we all know that US backing is just about all that’s needed for any venture to succeed.

Over the course of 100 days, around 800,000 Rwandans were murdered. That’s about one person dead every 12 seconds. 5 dead every minute. Bloody hell, EVERY MINUTE spent impotently discussing questions of policy means another 5 people dead. And, guess what they were arguing about? Nit-picking over the vagueness of the UN Mandate, and whether troops should be allowed to use force to protect civilians. And as a result, UN Peacekeepers stand by the roadside watching the rape and slaughter, powerless to do anything for fear of a court martial. Oh and let’s not forget the Belgian Paramilitaries who were murdered after their battalion commander told them to surrender their weapons to the Hutus because he wasn’t clear on the mandate. Human stupidity at it’s finest.

I don’t understand why people seem to have a problem with using force to stop genocide. Might makes right. Thus it has always be, thus it is, and thus it will always be. Then again, some people might ask, what exactly is right? In this case, I say fuck philosophy. I sure as hell might not know what’s right, but it’s kinda horribly obvious what’s wrong, innit? You have rapists, killers, running lose with machetes and a huge libido, and you wonder, hey, maybe it’s wrong to protect their would-be victims if it involves hurting these people. They don’t deserve your pity. They have none, so none should be wasted on them. Kill them all, if it will save more lives. I hope to god that Darfur doesn’t end this way. Intervention is needed, and force is the only thing these thugs respect. Might. Makes. Right. So please, make it right. Don’t let there be a failure of courage, a failure of humanity.

Next up is our propensity for evil. The Ghanaian UN contingent handed over the Chief Justice to Hutu death squads, and then stood around while the Hutus assaulted his wife and two young daughters. Again, a failure of humanity. I doubt there’s any excuse for this, yes? And of course, we have the Nazi’s, the Taliban, the Interhamwe, the list goes on and on.

As each day goes by, my mood gets darker. Every newspaper I read, the more the cynic in me cries out. I just don’t have any faith left in, well, in us. Religion is beginning to look appealing.

A failure of Humanity is a terrible thing.