The Global Politics of Ruin

 

How we were/ are conquered.

It was traditionally difficult for people to accept whatever that came their way. They resisted for three reasons; they did not want to break the status quo, they were unsure of what the new would bring, they could sometimes sense that the new would not lead to good. This led to two isms; liberalism and conservationism.

Liberalism is required to help mankind progress from one stage to another. For it to succeed it must be accompanied with honest transparent discussion, slow measured progress, examination of what comes, identifying the good and bad, and having the ability of course correction if the unwanted happens.

Liberalism is a corollary to conservationism and both have traditionally walked hand in hand. That is how society progressed. Both were fluid and not static, the key behind the success of the moves. There was an agreement that certain aspects must not be disturbed easily, and certain aspects must change with time and social needs.

The modern world led by corporate entities ossified these two isms into left and right. They had to do it because the changes they sought would be rejected otherwise. People would see through the charade and protest that the new introductions would be detrimental. They also therefore did not want fair debates and discussions involving all.

What they did was make liberalism their weapon. They honed it by including a certain mentality into the powerful who could influence others. People in every society look to their leaders for guidance. If these leaders could be motivated or planted the job would be easy.

Therefore suddenly we had a new breed of leaders who were propped up with adulation and exposure. We had politicians, scientists, educationists, economists, thinkers, authors, celebrities and influencers. They talked in the same tongue, exhorting us to blindly shun the old and usher in the new.

The next step was to influence education. The new education eliminated the old and the new became the only thing to be taught. The objective was that the new generation would have nothing to compare. Bereft of this choice they have to accept whatever comes.

The strength of the people was their ability to live off the land. They had skills, honed over generations that met the needs of the community. These people could withstand shocks as they were in charge and connected to the earth. The response was to de-skill the people and move them away from their traditional possessions. This made people extremely vulnerable.

The ruling system was changed. Earlier communities managed themselves. They organized themselves locally and regionally. If there was a broader concept they agreed to it on account of security and paid in terms of taxes. This structure ensured a great diversity. People enjoyed their freedom within an overall structure. If they moved from one locality to another they learnt the norms and obeyed them. This ensured peace and harmony.

The diversity ensured that no practice was accepted universally. Thus communities were protected from detrimental changes. Harm to one community was observed by the other and they stayed away from the advice or practice. If benefits were observed they were accepted by more and more communities.

This system of checks and balances was broken by the the concept of the State. A ruling class emerged who decided everything. This was presented as democracy. People could not fathom that this structure was imposed because the corporate wanted it. They could manage the ruling class, the few leaders they groomed, and thereby control the entire population.

In this scenario it is conservationism that can question the end result. However weaponising liberalism and painting conservationism in the blackest of hues ensured that opposition was eliminated. To ensure total control the leaders of both the isms bowed to common masters. The conservative leaders were purchased or replaced. This happened globally.

The liberals too are given the same treatment. Either they conform or they are discarded. The genuine victims who are calling for reforms because they have experienced the harm remain unheard; banished to cuckoo's land. They are the modern outcasts. Their fate is worse than that of an aggrieved conservationist.

Faced with the new normal the society then accepted the unthinkable;

• Extensive poisoning of the body, food chain, and environment
• Destruction of human values and the family
• Veering away from straightforward lives and accepting the complexity of deceit and corruption
• Measuring everything in terms of money
• Selling ones soul to corporate entities for livelihood
• Accepting consumerism as the goal of life
• Big sports, Big media, and the small mobiles keep us fixated on entertainment as our world is snatched away from us

The new order employed people in their game of harm. People enjoyed positions and salaries and did not grudge what they were doing. Harmful practices were rationalized and fed to the public as the greater good. These people who benefitted from the harm also engaged in opposing the forces that sought to point out or undo the harm as it affected their employment and income. Thus a seemingly foolproof system was created.

As a result of all these moves this is where we find ourselves;

• We have lost the power to sustain ourselves
• We have lost control over the governance system
• We are completely dependent on the new structure
• We have been rendered sick and weak by the pharmaceutical industry
• We have lost the power to point out wrongs and protest
• We have been divided using every excuse possible
• Extreme enmity created
• Consequently we now feel that we win if our own community is defeated

There is a very ancient crude saying in Odisha. The wives quarrel among themselves. One of them may decide that killing the husband would be the fit punishment for the co-wife. Let the husband die but let me have the pleasure of watching the other wife becoming a widow. 'Ghaita maru pachhe sautuni randa hau.' Similarly we think that killing our friend and neighbour is victory, our own loss in the process forgotten.

The enemy poses to be our friend and saviour, ensuring our needs and convincing us that our neighbour is responsible for all our woes. It is difficult to identify the enemy because of the new matrix where the enemy is everywhere thanks to long term strategies and role playing. The moves are incentivized and accepted to be a part of "civilised society." If you move out of the norms you automatically become backward, uncouth and uncivilized. Therefore you accede and remain silent.

It is a forward looking attitude to accept one’s own destruction. The person pointing out the obvious then becomes the enemy such is the distorted game.

But things are different when we wish to work sincerely on the ground. We then have to bring communities together. The oppressor is taken into confidence and made to serve the oppressed.

In one of our programs we were threatened by the politically powerful when we stepped in. The situation was informed to us in advance by the district administration who had given up the hope to bring in changes.

We then sat with the powerful and assigned them the important work of leading the project. They led the community institutions, chose the beneficiaries, ensured they received the government entitlements due to them, and organized the community to work for sustainable livelihoods.

Everyone was amazed. The BDO declared in a meeting that the team had achieved the impossible. The change in the people was remarkable. They were rescued from hate and exposed to the joy of giving. They found a new life; One that was denied to them.

There was an issue in a district of my State. For the State it was simply a law and order problem. They imposed restrictions till passions died down. However a friend is on the ground with his troupe assuaging fears and bringing communities together. The State does not think of this.

Left to themselves the people go in for such solutions. But there are forces that benefit from keeping the pot boiling. Without hatred and division, the position they enjoy in society would evaporate.

It is up to us to tolerate the hate regime or go forward and include all in progress. This can happen if we genuinely think about the betterment of the people.

If our funding comes from political sources, from philanthropists outside the country, and the strategies emanate from pockets of hatred, then we invite hatred in return. We lose touch with reality, stop listening to our conscience and blindly choose the path to self destruction.

Today we have created a society where there are very few to listen to sane voices. Bringing people together has become out of fashion. Political strategies have ensured that hatred spreads and all are discriminated against. People are at the end of their tether being battered from all directions. Now the wolves are baying for blood. Instead of addressing the wrongs we are searching for avenues to escalate and deepen the fissures because that is what we are told to do.

We do not stop to think that when society burns we too suffer.

The coming sorrow will teach us a lot of things. But will we be able to tolerate it? Sitting in our homes and enjoying the luxury of comforts has dulled our intellect and erased the power of foresight. We cannot even imagine the pain of being thrust into the fire.

The abyss is alluring. The fall and reaching the bottom are not. We will realize this only when we experience it.