The Little Guys

It’s astonishing to consider that bacterial cells in and on our bodies outnumber our human cells 10:1 We have a symbiotic existence with these little friends. Without them our immune system is weakened and we are unable to properly digest our food. Our microbiome is so important that it can be considered an organ in itself. Why then have we waged war on it for decades with antibiotics, most of which are unnecessary and which encourage the development of superbugs? I’m actually a strong believer in antibiotics. Some years ago, suffering from a very serious infection, they saved my life. However, antibiotics are ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ to the gut microbiome. Not only will they dispose of pathological bacteria but they indiscriminately destroy all bacteria including those we depend on for our survival. Having strong and effective antibiotics is crucial in modern medicine but our careless overuse has undermined their effectiveness. Antibiotic resistant bugs pose a real and present danger to humanity. By extension, there is a similar threat to civil society. Although we’re not yet in the habit of lobbing nuclear bombs around the world, we have lived with the insanity of this threat for over 70 years. Instead we choose ‘proportional responses’ for military interventions which only kill hundreds of thousands of people. We console ourselves that this is preferable to annihilation but to the indiscriminate Bagdad bomb victim, or the target of a drone strike, dead is dead. Human life is lost, mankind is diminished and hatreds fester. There has to be a better way! I live in a beautiful town at the foot of the Mourne mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. This is a rural community; our roads seem to have as many slow moving tractors as cars. We have no large industrial employers; ‘our eggs are spread across many baskets’. The town, and surrounding lands, are populated with hardy folk with a rich appreciation of community. Our pace of life is slow. We make time for others, especially at times of bereavement. The supportive web of the community is healing after many years of hurt from our troubled past. At one level it is idyllic yet, as with any society, there are problems. Still, it is natural for small communities to address their own issues. Strong societies rely on having a moral compass to guide ethical business practice and a legal framework based on equality. When we create such an environment, peace breaks out. If given a chance it could also occur in Aleppo and Bagdad without the carnage inflicted by proxy wars. It’s in our rush for the quick-fix that our problems often lie. Instead of curing medical problems we have chosen to manage sickness. We have even spawned entire industries to ‘fight fires rather than preventing them’. In doing so we have created work opportunities for thousands while sacrificing the lives of millions. Our medical system considers the human body as a collection of parts, each with their own complexities and corresponding specialist consultants. We apply quick-fix treatments to individual symptoms in isolation from the environment that caused the illness. But we will only cure disease when we treat the whole person and create an environment for the body to heal itself. Instead of respect for diversity within a framework of equality and justice, many parts of the world suffer an imposed uniformity under a ruling elite, more equal than the others, and from whom justice is meted out by bomb or bullet. Our geopolitical system considers humanity as a collection of sects, each with their own observances, priests and despots. We apply quick-fix solutions like ‘Boots on the ground’, no fly zones, ‘shock and awe’ etc. But even among the most sorely oppressed peoples there are likely to be ten times as many innocents as combatants and they alone hold the power to rebuild their communities. Let’s honour the place of these little friends. In the last analysis, in their work for peace and justice these little guys are really the big guys.