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Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
Yet, when we witness the anguish etched into the faces of starving children in Gaza and across the world, the very idea of progress seems hollow — an empty promise failing those who need it most. Greed and war continue to unravel the fabric of humanity, leaving little space for genuine advancement. The most fundamental aspects of human existence — safety, nourishment, dignity — remain painfully out of reach for millions.
As members of a global society, not just citizens of individual nations, we must confront the shame of the world we have created for our most vulnerable. While we may not scavenge for survival, though we are not eating cats and dogs, we have perfected the art of conflict — fighting like cats and dogs — while the children suffer, their innocence shattered beyond repair.
Hospitals demolished because a soldier might be hiding. Schools reduced to rubble for the same reason. Places of worship obliterated in pursuit of a single target. Entire cities turned to dust. And amid the devastation, thousands of innocent lives lost or permanently scarred. This is the reality left behind in the wake of our so-called progress.
In a world where destruction outpaces compassion, can we truly claim progress? If progress is to mean anything, it must be measured not by wealth or power, but by the lives protected, the futures nurtured and the suffering prevented. Only then can we begin to reclaim our humanity.
There are no excuses left — we know we can do better. As a civilization, beyond arbitrary borders, we must decide whether we will continue down this path of endless destruction or choose another, one built on solutions rather than ruin. Technology has granted us the ability to meet basic human needs on a global scale — if we choose to use it wisely.
