Author S. K. Nicholas

As much as it still pains me that Sarah and I lost baby Bethany, the more I see of this world, the more thankful I am that she never had a chance to suffer on such a cruel rock. Life can be beautiful, there’s no denying it, and yet man’s inhumanity to man is inescapable. Everywhere you turn, you can’t help but see it. Pain. Murder. Rape. We exceed in cruelty, and the thought of sending my child out there to be a victim of such horrors is nauseating. That’s not to say I wouldn’t give everything to have her here with me now, but what kind of a future would she have had living in a world that worships power and money and snuffs out the weak without a second thought? Species after species of animals killed for profit and gain. Rainforests hacked down like it was unfashionable to enjoy the sight of trees. Having principles and sticking to them causes you to be cut adrift from society. Machines one and all; they grind out a living where empathy is derided much like the dreams of those who dare to be different. The papers show a mother and daughter murdered in their own home by two teenage boys. They show me women who’ve had acid thrown in their faces for being independent, and disabled children beaten and starved for wetting the bed. Further afield there are countries afflicted by genocide, where genital mutilation is seen as mandatory and those who believe there’s a god up there demanding the extinction of entire races. What ignorant, deluded minds could believe in something so utterly fucking primitive? What minds could see working a job and obtaining a mortgage as being something unique and worth celebrating? We go from one extreme to the other never taking the time to help those who are vulnerable. We waste vast amounts of money on wars and other dreary endeavours when there are people out there starving and on the brink of death. On every street in every town and city up and down the land, someone is hurting so much they’d rather kill themselves then spend one more minute in this place. And yet what do we do? We turn the other way and watch television. We take photographs of ourselves posing with lovers showing complete strangers how happy we are. As a species, we’ve created so much, and achieved so many incredible feats, and yet our history is stained with the blood of millions, and it shows no signs of changing. I’m preaching, I know, and yet I’m just as guilty as the rest. A human who would rather dedicate his life to writing instead of sacrificing his time to walk the streets and seek out those in need. Such a mess just like the rest. Such a self-centered bastard in a sea of the same. They tell me to be happy, to look on the bright side, but they see only what they want to see. The truth is inconvenient. It’s so easy just to go with the flow and turn the other way. How could anyone want to bring a life into this? How could anyone be so cruel?