As the horrors of death, destruction, war and worse continue to grow and envelop more and more countries throughout the world, we have to ask: Is it time for strong leadership, or is it too late?  Can the leader of one country or a group of strong leaders united in the cause of bringing sanity back to the world save it?  Can the people themselves, many who won't look beyond their backyard, save it?

                The headlines in the past few days paint a frightening, global picture.  In addition to the horrific incident in the sky over Ukraine that claimed the lives of 298 victims, the Russian supported rebels added insult to the world and shame to themselves with the way they handled those killed on Malaysian Flight MH17.

                While Flight MH17 dominated the headlines for the past week, more than 500 people died, so far, in Israeli clashes with militants in the Gaza Strip.  Buried among the top news stories over the past few days was that of nearly 30 people killed in a series of bombings, reportedly tied to the Sunni militant blitz by the Islamic state, in and near Baghdad, Iraq. 

                Also in Iraq, more than 270 soldiers and workers were killed last Friday in an attack on a gas field by members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).  That's the same group that has threatened people living in the area to "convert to Islam, pay a fee or die."

                Just 48 hours before Secretary of State John Kerry decided to travel to Egypt to try and hammer out a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas, more than 30 Egyptian soldiers were killed in a surprise attack by militants near the Egypt-Syrian border.

                A Boko Haram raid near Maidugui, Nigeria has reportedly killed more than 100 people this past weekend and forced more than 15,000 to flee the area.  You remember Boko Haram; they attracted international condemnation for the abductions of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls and threatened to sell them into slavery.  The girls have been held for more than three months.  Since the incident, some parents of the abducted girls have been murdered.

                In Kenya, seven people were killed when gunmen attacked a bus last Friday.  Five people were killed as militias continued to battle for the control of Tripoli's airport in Libya.

                Just two weeks ago, more than 90 people were killed in tribal attacks in western Uganda by attackers wielding machetes, spears, and bows and arrows.  The victims included men, women and children.

                Two people were killed and 27 injured when a bomb was detonated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan over the weekend.  Police suspect that Baloch separatists, who have been trying to establish an independent state, are responsible. 

                The international list of violent incidents and deaths this month continues to grow at an alarming rate.  And we haven't even mentioned violence in our own country.   

                Martin Luther King once said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."  Too many people just don't care about the insane violence that continues to spread throughout the world.   

                Maybe they're waiting for the carriers of carnage to knock on their door – again.