Sometimes I feel that the purpose of existence in this world of ours is fraught with futility. There are times, such as now, when an extremely morbid flow of thoughts rushes through my head like a devastating flood leaving behind nothing but gloom and despair. These are circumstances when I realize that (as Kurt Cobain put it) it's better to burn out than to fade away. Even as the rain flushes out the heat as I type this, I get the feeling that the sooner the human race is rendered extinct, the better it is for this weary and exhausted planet.
What are we humans if not living examples of the Selfish Giant who appears in that classic fairy tale by Oscar Wilde? Isn't it true? As the Giant shut himself out from the world and lived in his own pathetic grey castle, so do we shut ourselves up in our cities brushing out all that we perceive as alien including those children of hope who only wish to spread happiness in our gloomy courtyards through a symbiotic existence. Oh no, like a virus bent on domination and destruction, we humans seep into every nook and corner that nature has bestowed upon this earth and then root out everything that has made its home there just so that we can slouch indulgently into our own selfish little pool of luxury. We then call it civilization.
As if that is not enough, we strive to satisfy our bloated egos by dividing ourselves into nations, regions, religions, castes, creeds and sects. We take immense pleasure in this and are forever attempting to portray our own choices as the choices of god. Once again like the Selfish Giant, we closet ourselves from other groups and parties. Just as the Giant refused to let the children in even when the storms of winter ravaged his abode, so do we refuse the hand of friendship even when other foul members of our group ravage our lives.
Succumbing to the most base of emotions, we play the game of the Prisoner's Dilemma, each trying to outdo the other in a race that can only end in disaster. We fill up our arsenals with the wildest of weapons on the premise that the other man is doing it too. We abolish, massacre and mutilate on the excuse that everyone else is doing it as well. When will listen to our conscience and remember the line by Tagore "When no one answers your call, learn to walk alone"?
Nuclear war...sometimes I almost wish it would actually happen. The human race is now a groaning dinosaur, a brontosaurus, weighing the world down with its selfishness. It's time that this despicable species either reinvents itself or submits itself to the same fate that befell the ancient saurian rulers of earth. Let us be wiped out or let us be freed, but for the love of god, spare the rest of the world from our misdeeds.
What are we humans if not living examples of the Selfish Giant who appears in that classic fairy tale by Oscar Wilde? Isn't it true? As the Giant shut himself out from the world and lived in his own pathetic grey castle, so do we shut ourselves up in our cities brushing out all that we perceive as alien including those children of hope who only wish to spread happiness in our gloomy courtyards through a symbiotic existence. Oh no, like a virus bent on domination and destruction, we humans seep into every nook and corner that nature has bestowed upon this earth and then root out everything that has made its home there just so that we can slouch indulgently into our own selfish little pool of luxury. We then call it civilization.
As if that is not enough, we strive to satisfy our bloated egos by dividing ourselves into nations, regions, religions, castes, creeds and sects. We take immense pleasure in this and are forever attempting to portray our own choices as the choices of god. Once again like the Selfish Giant, we closet ourselves from other groups and parties. Just as the Giant refused to let the children in even when the storms of winter ravaged his abode, so do we refuse the hand of friendship even when other foul members of our group ravage our lives.
Succumbing to the most base of emotions, we play the game of the Prisoner's Dilemma, each trying to outdo the other in a race that can only end in disaster. We fill up our arsenals with the wildest of weapons on the premise that the other man is doing it too. We abolish, massacre and mutilate on the excuse that everyone else is doing it as well. When will listen to our conscience and remember the line by Tagore "When no one answers your call, learn to walk alone"?
Nuclear war...sometimes I almost wish it would actually happen. The human race is now a groaning dinosaur, a brontosaurus, weighing the world down with its selfishness. It's time that this despicable species either reinvents itself or submits itself to the same fate that befell the ancient saurian rulers of earth. Let us be wiped out or let us be freed, but for the love of god, spare the rest of the world from our misdeeds.
0 comments:
Post a Comment