Friday, July 15, 2016

Faith?

I have tried to not let things happening in the world influence me too much for a while. But I have to get all these bottled emotions out there.

What have we become? Indiscriminate killing of people is not a solution to any problem. Bombing the instigators is just going to make people more radicalized. The question is not how many bombs we drop and how many people we kill. It is how do we make people return to humanity. I am dying to see a country that is not divided. Even in India we have become too polarized. Polarization does not mean physically harming others but it can also mean attacking someone else's opinion and ideas. Yes if you are giving critical feedback backed by facts than it is a different story. But if you attack someone's thoughts because they belong to a different group than you that is polarization.

Why can't we allow each person to have his/her own views? Why are we so bothered that there is multiplicity in this world? A great man once said the opposite of a deep truth is also a deep truth. Are we moving away from being human and going back to the ape kingdom. This could certainly be a theory. Maybe instead of evolving our brains are de-evolving. I think the brain just gave up and said screw you, you don't deserve a beautiful complex tool like me.

I initially thought this might be a limited phenomenon. But this is happening all over the world. In the US we have Trump vs hillary, in the middle east we have multiple groups falling over each other for power, in india you have numerous political parties and their fans trying to get a leg up on each other, in china we have a government trying to show the rest of the world its power, this list could keep going on. I always was taught that all men and women are equal. I was taught that faith is personal. I was taught that the greatest value to have is humanity.

When I was a child, some kids from the slum next to our house would peep over the compound wall to watch what we were playing. Usually this was either cricket or football. My grandfather asked me why are you not calling those other children to play with you. I didn't know the answer, I had felt I was supposed to keep distance. He never scolded me always taught me. That day I learnt the most important lesson in my life. All are equal. I have never forgotten this and I never will.
When I was working the drivers always wanted to go with me. It never happened that I asked for a car and a driver didn't agree it was not because I am talkative or I gave them tips. It was always because I treated them like an equal. What I ate I gave them, what I drank I shared. They are no less human just because they are not as educated as you. They are working hard to live and the greatest thing you can give God is your labor.