Dear Editor,
The gathering of information and the attainment of knowledge thereof in our world have grown exponentially especially during the last 500 years and more so in the last 25 years. In spite of this one can forcefully argue that the world has not really become better… because the increased knowledge in science and technology has accelerated speed and comfortable lifestyles only for relatively few. Behaviour, conduct and relationship among humans and among nations have unfortunately deteriorated. One can further contend that the accumulated knowledge in science and technology has been diverted disproportionately to the furtherance of the instruments and tools of war and destruction while pitiable budgetary allocations go to global healthcare, education and other social services.
Gross poverty and inequalities have burgeoned. The interests of humanity, environmental health and peace have never been more tensely threatened. There is a constancy of animosity and warmongering, volatility and edginess, and pervasive anomie on the world stage, especially during recent times. What a sad and terrible commentary for the ‘civilized’ world! Many world leaders have, over time, gorged in self-glorification to the extent of personalized deification. The transmogrification has infused in them a sense of holier-than-thou, and thus they are ‘fooled’ into a false and equivocal comfort of being omnipotent, full of grace and benevolence, and above the law! Thus it had been with Emperors and Kings, Pharaohs and Caesars, Maharajahs, Czars, oligarchs, dictators, and many modern-day “rulers”. L’état c’est moi!
To the inquiring mind, these people and their corrupt cohorts lived in excessive luxury and made laws that essentially were meant to subjugate the masses and not intended as prudent guidelines for better living. The soothing tranquility in the secret and exquisite chambers of the Pharaohs, Maharajahs, Emperors and the Kings, and the celestial pleasantness of the classical music and dance could not muffle the shrieking cries of the peons, slaves and the lowly castes. Thus, it was then; so it is now still.
Here are four comments that grabbed my attention years ago: Veteran movie actor Kirk Douglas summarized it best: “THE WORLD IS IN A MESS and you are inheriting it. Generation Y [the young], you are on the cusp. You are the group facing many problems: abject poverty, global warming, genocide, AIDS, and suicide bombers, to name a few. These problems exist, and the world is silent. We have done very little to solve these problems. Now, we leave it to you. You have to fix it because the situation is intolerable. You need to rebel, to speak up, write, vote, and care about people and the world you live in.” (my emphasis)
(http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061209/lasa002.html?.v=28)
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus told the Oslo audience, “We must address the root causes of terrorism to end it for all time. I believe putting resources into improving the lives of poor people is a better strategy than spending it on guns… To me, globalization is like a hundred-lane highway crisscrossing the world… If it is a free-for-all highway, its lanes will be taken over by the giant trucks from powerful economies. Bangladeshi rickshaws will be thrown off the highway.” (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061211/ap_on_re_eu/nobel_prizes)
Kofi Annan during his final days of his term at the UN admonished and cautioned: “…when we look at the murder, rape and starvation still being inflicted on the people…, …doctrines remain pure rhetoric unless those with the power to intervene effectively … are prepared to take the lead. It also includes a responsibility to future generations to preserve resources that belong to them as well as to us. Every day that we do nothing, or too little, to prevent climate change imposes higher costs on our children.” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/12/10/AR2006121000768.html)
Peter Beaumont writing in the Observer commented on: “…the British sense of the superiority of our values, a moral code we believe the world should bend to. It is an attitude shared in large part by many of our politicians, media figures and even public intellectuals. Its hallmark is a curiously uncritical set of double standards typically expressed in an affronted tone of self-righteousness. (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1968575,00.html) What is worrying, however, is that once again we are being seduced by gazing into a distorted mirror of ourselves and liking too much what we see. It is the narcissism of national obsession. And it blinds us to the reality of how we can really effect a difference in the world.”
The issues and problems are many, multi-dimensional and complex, but the solution is simple. “If you want to get rid of the mosquitoes, you have to first drain the swamps,” tersely put by Gore Vidal. There must be a radical readjustment of the state of mind, a fundamental internalization and conversion to remove the time-measured obsession and greed for power and control, conquer and conquest, the greed for self-aggrandized narcissism, and the greed for excessive wealth. Great wisdom and generosity of spirit – the religio – must challenge the traditional way. Some may not be able to revert to minimalism. Nevertheless, such wisdom must come (will have to come) from the heart of all, individually and collectively.
Sincerely,
Gary Girdhari
