Tuesday, September 15, 2026: What is Happening to Our Humanity?

As war, division, and suffering fill our daily lives, Elaine B. Holtz asks what is happening to our humanity—and whether compassion, cooperation, and respect for one another can point us toward a different future.

By Elaine B. Holtz

Lately I find myself asking a question I never thought I would have to ask: What is happening to humanity?

Every day we see images of war, children killed, families driven from their homes, people struggling to obtain health care, and communities facing an uncertain future. We seem to spend unimaginable sums preparing for conflict while too many people lack the basic necessities that make life worth living.

I don't understand it.

We often describe ourselves as a nation built on faith and moral values. Whatever our individual beliefs, many of us recognize the timeless wisdom of Jesus' words: "Love God with all your heart and love your Neighbor as Yourself.” Imagine if those principles truly guided our decisions.

To me, loving God means honoring the miracle of life—the flowers, the birds, the earth that sustains us, and every human being created with dignity and worth. Loving our neighbors means recognizing that if we know what we need—safety, kindness, compassion, opportunity, and hope—then we also know what others need.

Instead, we too often answer fear with more weapons, anger with more division, and conflict with more suffering.

Real strength is not found in destroying one another. It is found in having the courage to admit when something isn't working, to lay down our hostility, to listen, and to seek better solutions. History has repeatedly shown that violence leaves lasting scars, while compassion and cooperation build stronger societies.

Albert Einstein warned that humanity could destroy itself if it failed to match its technological power with wisdom. Today, those words seem more relevant than ever. We possess extraordinary abilities to create—and equally extraordinary abilities to destroy.

Is this the future we want? We all breathe the same air. We all depend on the same planet. We all hope our children and grandchildren will inherit a world where they can live in peace.

I don't have all the answers. But I know the questions are worth asking. Perhaps the place to begin is with a simple commitment: to treat one another with the same love, dignity, and compassion we hope to receive ourselves.

If enough of us begin there, perhaps our humanity will begin to find its way home.

Elaine B. Holtz was co-producer with Ken Norton of the radio show Women’s Spaces. The show went off the air on August 10, 2026. All shows are archived on www.womensspaces.com.