Yes, it saddens me that 'bombing for peace', sanctions that cause 500,000 Iraqi children to starve to death and the atrocities perpetrated on the Palestinians/Yemeni's etc are accepted by the politicians and the public at large as the norm in the modern age.

How can we call ourselves a civilised species with that terrible baggage?

As discussed before, I believe cataclysms have destroyed civilisation at least 4 times in deep antiquity, maybe we've been on the cusp before and been unlucky, who can say?

But we're a long way from transcending the facade as a collective right now.

The posts you've produced over the last few months are truly awe inspiring, hopefully there are many here who are now dipping their toes into this fascinating subject thanks to your intellectual prowess, you should be proud my freind.