The world that we have bequeathed from nature has now come to war with it! As humans attempt to overpower and rein in the primordial force of nature that created the universe, we are slowly but surely becoming more and more arrogant. With great power comes great responsibility, an adage much used by super heroes. But the super-rich and super powerful of our times appear to behave contradictory. For them, great power accompanies, greater arrogance. Each of these demagogues be they in politics or business, vie with the other to establish their supremacy. They crush dissent, ridicule the weak, deny justice, punish the rebel, mock the meek, oppress their subjects, create behemoths that glorify monopoly, repudiate the truth, gag the press, encourage violence, uphold racial inequality and are misogynist, and remain perpetually insecure; crushing the liberal and spread malice amongst the proletariat. Every form of governance; be it democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, welfare socialism, communism and oligarchy to name a few has failed people and nations. Each form of governance gives birth to nationalists who harp on the virtue of the right leaning anarchists, now that the left leaning anarchists have been subdued. Crony capitalism and malicious nationalism has become the agenda of those in power. The masses fed with the unassailable dream of their country’s greatness in the comity of nations, follow like lambs. They have crushed the very soul of freedom and chained our imagination.

We have to battle to get back our soul and breathe the air of freedom. We need to iron out friction and become our own messiahs. Collective will and collective conscience of the people is a weapon that has seldom failed. It will usher in a thousand years of peace with no oppression or violence. More than us, Mother Earth needs rest from the violence we have unleashed on creation. We have annihilated many living species in our quest for self-indulgence. It is time we allow her every creation to breathe and replenish all that we have raided from her womb and body.

Can we for once have no allegiance to any nation, religion, creed, tribe, caste, color, race or gender but to humanity alone. Is this possible or merely a dream? Martin Luther said, “I have a dream”. Let the women, men and children in the comity of nations make that dream come true not merely in America but in all nations across the world.

Mufaddal Khumri

October 2018