How many parents across the world today are struggling with similar emotions? In fact, are there any who are not?

The ever-expanding number of threats to our existence seem to loom threateningly and constantly; from heatwaves to earthquakes, from robots to riots, wars piling up with no end in sight, the wickedness of greed, manifested in the accelerating extremes of wealth and poverty, the list goes on… and on, and on.

What these threats share, is that each is of a sufficient magnitude to feel world-changing, so much so that, as individuals, we struggle to comprehend, and all we are left with, is a sense of our own powerlessness. Nonetheless, there are a certain select few who do have power, and yet apparently choose to use it to make things exponentially worse. I cannot help but be reminded of the unfortunately prophetic words of the Tom Waits song, ‘God’s away on business’: ‘Who are the ones that we kept in charge? Killers, thieves, and lawyers.’

In my youth and younger adulthood, I thought I could change the world. I was a radical activist for so many causes I’ve lost count. Did I make a difference? Inevitably I must have, but not necessarily in the ways I imagined that I might. The friends I made, the chance encounters I had. The impact others, often strangers, had on me, have left their mark on the person I am today. The accidents, the failures, the surprises, and the shocks, they all played their part and, usually, affected someone else at the same time.

We are living, breathing, mammals; part of different collectives, citizens of different tribes, historically held together by certain rules and moral codes. We are so much more than a statistic in an algorithm. We are also, first and foremost, individuals, each with our own personal inner life. This is where it begins to get difficult. How do we find ways to protect and nurture our inner selves in the outer world, as it is?

It comes as no surprise to me that many have turned to religion; seeking solace in something greater, beyond our understanding, a divine mystery to comfort us in our cosmic loneliness. Yet so many of the conflicts in the world right now are advanced in the name of religion, which brings me to fundamentalism: if you’re following a book that claims to give you all the answers, it’s not likely to end well. The Bible, the Quran, or the Talmud, all undoubtedly have insights, but the only world-wide ‘truth’? Such certitude is a guaranteed recipe for righteous conflict, the worst kind.

Of course, the same could be said about politics. In my younger years I was a card-carrying member of the Communist Party. I believed that Marxism-Leninism was the answer. I look back in shame at the Soviet and other terrorist atrocities that I excused in the name of making the world a better place. I also understand what it means to be radicalised and why such righteousness is still so appealing to the young.

It was with these thoughts in my mind that I turned to a book which seemed to promise some hope: ‘The Righteous Mind – why good people are divided by politics and religion’ by Jonathan Haidt, published in 2012. It’s a good read and very informative on the roots of tribalism as an essential motor driving human existence. Equally thought provoking is ‘The Death of Nuance’, a BBC radio documentary from 2020. Both give very relevant insights and yet they both feel just a wee bit out of date. Together, they are a sobering reminder of just how fast the world is changing.

I think for many of us, it’s the speed of change that is so terrifying, and nothing epitomises that more then AI. Which, oddly enough, takes us back to religion, as it was the pontiff himself, Pope Leo XIII, who has expressed himself so candidly in defence of humanity against this threat. In his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, he spells out how AI is not only changing what it means to be human; it could mark the end of humanity itself.

In a previous issue of The Leither (March 2025), I drew on a dystopian fantasy from H. G. Wells in his book, The Time Machine, written in 1895, in which he imagines a journey through time, millions of years into the future, where humanity has evolved into two separate species. The Eloi, who look like us and lead docile lives above ground, and the Morlocks, who live underground operating machines. The chilling conclusion comes when his time traveller realises that the Eloi’s only function is as the food source for the Morlocks. The human looking ones have become the livestock for the busy ones in charge!

Wells warned us over a century ago. Yet today, barely a peep comes from our political leaders, other than to justify their race to fund the filthy-rich midwives of this horror. Little wonder then, that it has become so hard for us as individual human beings to connect with that quiet spot within, where peace and compassion can still be found.

It might seem like God’s away on business, although the Pope, at least, is paying attention. Meanwhile, what can we do to protect our sense of self…and our sanity? Disconnect from devices and re-engage with each other, in person, and in the outside world. Equally, we need to take time to be calmly alone, at a remove from the incessant noise. Whilst we still can.