"Loyal to love, not countries" - By Richard Branson

After I blogged about the ongoing conflict in Gaza, it was interesting to read so many of your impassioned responses. While they expressed varying viewpoints, what was clear from the overwhelming majority of comments was a desire for the needless bloodshed to end immediately.

It is positive to see everyone from the UN to the Pope to President Obama urging an end to the conflict. 
This Times’ opinion piece (£ included some good points, notably that any progress will require political space for the leaders to work within to find a solution. 

It also noted the horrifying damage being done to civilians through actions on both sides: “Gaza is not a war about the Palestinian people. It is a war through the middle of them.”
Elsewhere, a record death toll in Syria is being reported, while conflict between Russia and the Ukraine continues.

While the circumstances are very different in each case, the fundamental issue should be the same: the urgent need to stop the pointless deaths of innocent people in all corners of the planet. 

This brought to mind a quote from one of my favourite writers, Graham Greene – who saw a good amount of the globe himself:

“Would the world be in the mess it is if we were loyal to love and not to countries?”
                                                             
Original Blog posted by Richard Branson on virgin website http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/loyal-to-love-not-countries