Reading the paper for the past few days, I have come to dread it. The massacre (that's what I would term it, rather than war) going on in Gaza makes me wonder sometimes about human nature itself. Everyday, I open the newspaper hoping for news of a ceasefire. Not having the chance to watch TV, I feel blessed. The picture today in the paper of three kids, dead, gave me a chill.
Killing in varied forms is going on around the world. But, whether at home or whether abroad, the ones who are caught are civilians. Innocent people always. Terrorists, suicide bombers and religious fanatics all thirst just for blood. Whose blood, does not matter to them. Yes, numbers do matter. So, sometimes I feel, that they have left the politicians and the rulers alone. Heightened security has played a role as is the fear of massive repurcursions if a leader is killed. Instead, they have found innocent civilians the best targets. The only change being the numbers. A bomb killing five, ten or even 20 people makes news, but not big enough. It has to be in hundreds today. So much for advancement.
In the process, women and children become targets; 'easy targets' in political parlance. Sierra Leone, Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, Kashmir, ......... different places, different people, different issues. Rape, is a common weapon of war. As is the issue of the lost generation. Young men turn fighters and then, when there are no more young men, children as young as young can be, are turned into soldiers. The root cause of problems can be boiled down to poverty, chaos, disease and war. One leads to another and the ripple effect is difficult to contain. So much for us calling ourselves beings with six senses. The lesser ones are so much better and advanced than us. I don't want to turn it into a political analysis or write history. But the picture made me want to think of something positive. Call it impractical, hallucination, running away from reality, whatever, but 'hope' is all I can do. Hoping that troubled times will end soon, that mankind will see, will open their eyes. To reality.
Wish I would wake up to a day
A day when
Mankind gets permanent amnesia
Of the kinds
Religous amnesia
War amnesia
Weapon amnesia
Amnesia to shrewdness
Amnesia to jealousy
Amnesia to hatred
Amnesia to one-upmanship
.....................
But then, if it happens
Man will not be man anymore
He will become GOD
And there we go back
To the point of all problems.
Killing in varied forms is going on around the world. But, whether at home or whether abroad, the ones who are caught are civilians. Innocent people always. Terrorists, suicide bombers and religious fanatics all thirst just for blood. Whose blood, does not matter to them. Yes, numbers do matter. So, sometimes I feel, that they have left the politicians and the rulers alone. Heightened security has played a role as is the fear of massive repurcursions if a leader is killed. Instead, they have found innocent civilians the best targets. The only change being the numbers. A bomb killing five, ten or even 20 people makes news, but not big enough. It has to be in hundreds today. So much for advancement.
In the process, women and children become targets; 'easy targets' in political parlance. Sierra Leone, Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, Kashmir, ......... different places, different people, different issues. Rape, is a common weapon of war. As is the issue of the lost generation. Young men turn fighters and then, when there are no more young men, children as young as young can be, are turned into soldiers. The root cause of problems can be boiled down to poverty, chaos, disease and war. One leads to another and the ripple effect is difficult to contain. So much for us calling ourselves beings with six senses. The lesser ones are so much better and advanced than us. I don't want to turn it into a political analysis or write history. But the picture made me want to think of something positive. Call it impractical, hallucination, running away from reality, whatever, but 'hope' is all I can do. Hoping that troubled times will end soon, that mankind will see, will open their eyes. To reality.
Wish I would wake up to a day
A day when
Mankind gets permanent amnesia
Of the kinds
Religous amnesia
War amnesia
Weapon amnesia
Amnesia to shrewdness
Amnesia to jealousy
Amnesia to hatred
Amnesia to one-upmanship
.....................
But then, if it happens
Man will not be man anymore
He will become GOD
And there we go back
To the point of all problems.
1 comment:
Beautifully written, as always. The hope is either for such amnesia or for knowledge that allow us to understand some things should be left only to history.
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