Your mind, your world...

We are currently enduring a global financial crisis. A crisis, it must be said, borne largely on the wings of corruption, mismanagement, incompetence and greed. The psychological dimensions of such malevolent activity are strikingly obvious. I am perhaps not the only person who gets the feeling that once the dust has settled from all this financial turmoil (in, say, a year or two) that it will be “business as usual” and the same old greedy pricks will be running the show and sucking the life out of economies to fund their private jets, trophy-wives, super-yachts and mansions in up-state New York and the Bahamas.

It’s of course possible that things will change. The only real way to change such a significant thing is for a profound change in psychology, that is – an intense rewiring of the the social values and aspirations of so many, many people. Greed is no longer good and it needs to be, perhaps, somewhat demonised in the popular mind and through popular culture. People need to realise that accumulating commodity and monetary wealth never has and never will give them that sense of existential security that all of the garish advertising and hypnotic imagery claims to be their birth-right.

Financial catastrophe is of course not the only arena in which fundamental psychological re-organisation and re-attribution of priorities and aspirations is required. Climate change is something which will need more than just a few technological or policy wonders to fix. It is likely that a very fundamental change in many of the ways in which people of many cultures perceive themselves, their relationship with the world and their relationship with others will need to occur. The paradigm of thought we live in, and to which the developing world is so rapidly aspiring, is one which celebrates individualism and the accumulation of wealth and the motley paraphernalia of consumer culture.

That the development of a particular type of psychological and existential self has occurred pari passu capitalism, pop-culture and consumer-ideology is (to me) unquestionable. That this self (an entity not as innate as many may choose at first to believe) requires radical rewiring and psychological reconfiguration for us to be able to make the kinds of changes to our material world which we need to be able to survive climate change and to avert distant-future climate change is apparent. I don’t know if people will be able to do it. There has been little or no discussion of it.

I have had good opportunity of living in four big cities of India during an important phase when India was opening its economic doors to the world. Longest stay has been in the two big cities- one in the west of India and other in the east of India. My personal belief (based on my experience) is that each city has a distinct character and they leave an imprint on the soul of people living there. Globalization cannot erase inherent character of a place. (But if I go by these two cities I truly identify with and what the life in two metros has done to my soul, then I am sure I must be bipolar by now!!)

First 22 years of my life were spent in Mumbai (Bombay), city situated in the West of India (now known as Mumbai).  Now I am settled in the biggest city of India on the east that is Kolkata (Calcutta). One city lives by the sea (Arabian Sea) and other by the river (Ganges). One is the busiest financial capital of India and the other was (maybe is even now) popularly known as ‘cultural/intellectual’ capital of India. Globalization may threaten to erase the dissimilarities and hence the essence of the cities but it is unlikely that it’ll change the psyche of residents living there through generations. The true heritage of each city will be preserved by its own people.

Life in Mumbai is fast. It has always been so. Being financial capital of India it always had a global flavor. The city is always on the move. Most people have to commute long distances to reach their offices in the heart of the city. So if you standstill either at Churchgate or CST stations (two main local train junctions) you can see a whole mass of people moving around you, there is a fantastic order in this movement of people.  There is a definite pattern of life of common people – home-work/college-home.  Time spent at home is minimal. There are special trains for women commuters. The gender stereotype or bias is almost invisible. For first 22 years of my life I never had to restrict my movements just because I happen to be a girl. City uses only two languages – Hindi(India’s national language) and English. The local language is Marathi but still it is not widely spoken. The city has its own share of agonies. Its infrastructure is crumbling due to huge population, every monsoon there is floods, and regionalism is surfacing now and then. People don’t wear political badges. Its main culture is ‘work’ culture – rest are movies (mainly Bollywood and Hollywood films) theatre (there are plays in all languages), pubs, music, art, book launches and other leisure like any other modern city of the world. Most importantly people are not self-conscious and neither curious. Intriguingly only recently there has been sudden resurgence of regionalism (an issue picked up by a political party to win local community votes). But yes there has been talk about local culture being at stake. Mumbai terror attack was the first instance when multitudes of people took to streets to protest against terrorism and major security lapse by the administration and state government.

Life in Kolkata is total contrast. It was nothing short of a ‘culture’ shock when I first arrived here. Railway stations are busy but noisier too and crowd doesn’t always move towards a definite destination. Also movement of people in general is very slow. Not all people have to commute very long distances, so there is a sort of laid back attitude that is unnerving. Political flags are visible every where all time of the year. City comes to a grinding halt whenever there are political rallies and agitations (which happen almost every other day). Each resident is highly politically conscious and almost wears his/her political leanings (only two options –Left or Non-Left) on sleeves. Most people are highly self-conscious, highly reactionary (for no reason at all) and curiosity level is uncomfortably high. People not only talk but eat, sleep, dream in the local language that is Bengali. Gender stereotypes are highly visible and retained. Work culture is totally missing but other local cultures are highly visible. Bengal renaissance holds an important place in the history of India. Every other household has complete works of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Every evening after dusk one can hear women/children singing Rabindra Sangeet in any residential areas. Theatre groups are very active (even politically). City ‘intelligentsia’ are biggest critics of the ruling Left which has been in power for almost 30 years. They mobilized support for biggest opposition party and forced ruling Left to back foot on the plans of using farmlands for SEZ (Special Economic Zone) projects. Ruling Left has become pro-right and Opposition has taken to streets in typical Leftist style asking for rights of farmers and downtrodden people. City culture is changing fast with opening of IT sectors, malls and multiplexes but yet it remains deep rooted in its past.

Globalisation and city-centered economic activities can and will only add urban woes. There is huge influx of migrant workers everyday in both cities. Infrastructure is almost crumbling. Pollution and population are the biggest issues.  But global forces cannot erase local cultures. I guess both traits of growing fast and being deeply rooted are very important for balanced growth of any city, country or even a person. Also this cultural diversity is the main essence and beauty of life throughout the history of human civilization and was never erased by changing times. New cultures keep evolving with Time while old ones are carried forward too.

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One of the uniqueness of Life on Earth probably is the ability of all life forms to procreate and another is evolution of species. Human beings stand at the end of evolution chain, tall above all, armed with consciousness, intellect yet having the same natural instincts and needs like rest of the species of life on Earth. Apart from Natural laws human beings have added whole set of new laws to bring an order in human society. 

Human beings (for reasons best known to different law-makers of the land who have reigned for thousands of years) seem have added more checks and balances and put institutions in place just to protect procreation of species. Human nests (family and home) have extra legal, religious and societal laws as walls of protection. Yet human world is fraught with all kinds ‘Nesting blues’. Is it wrong to associate nesting and procreation as far as human life is concerned? How long classical concept of ‘family’ (mother, father and children) will survive as a basic building block in a modern and more than ever complex human world?

What is more intriguing is that human beings seem to have lost choices and freedom as authorities (religious, legal, political) keep amending laws just to protect human nests. These artificial walls become almost like prisons from which there is no escape. Do they really protect the child and create favorable conditions for procreation? There are marriage laws, there are laws against adultery, there are laws for breaking the nest and divorcing the partner, laws which protect the child – there are all kinds of legal protection for saving the family and further procreation of human species and holding familial lineage and wealth. But yet the very need of so many legal enforcements raises doubts whether the concept of a ‘family’ being basic building block of human society is itself flawed.

Any rigid framework gives birth to rebels. Rebels against classical family and marriage institution have given again birth to parallel institutions and alternate community living models. There are people asserting with live-in relationships or same sex relationships or even living alone. Procreation does not seem to be main agenda of human life anymore. Yet authorities never give up efforts to save the family, every other day a new law or a clause is added to save the dying institution of marriage. Even live-in relationships have legalities now – once again to protect the child and the inheritance of wealth. But same sex relationships are held in contempt and even declared illegal. Is it because they don’t procreate?

Also, where does modern family life stand in spite of all legalities? It is more fragile than ever. There are gender and sexual politics between partners inside walls of the family. Individual happiness still remains outside gambit of all laws. Partners are forced to live together only in the interest of the child and family. There is no bigger child abuse than a child growing up in an unhappy home.  More than the actual divorce, the unhappiness that builds up between individuals leading to divorce, often affects the child more. Partners often realize their incompatibility but yet cannot break free. Also two perfectly compatible partners can be very bad in parenting or may choose not to procreate at all.  Further if one of the partners has infertility problems and the nest remains empty, there are societal pressures to go for correctional measures and procreate. Individual never has freedom to exercise free will and follow ones natural calling which could be more about intellectual pursuits and not a pursuit of earthy joys. Nests which are built and held together by free will from inside are the strongest. Love and commitment cannot be forced by law.

Animal world definitely seem to enjoy more freedom and choices. They procreate and nurture without any compulsions or regulations. They follow their mating extinct and some species even live community life. Their sexual preferences and behavior vary and are even inexplicable. But yet their limited intelligence seems to have allowed them to live freely following their natural instincts and building nests by total free will and not under community compulsions.

Nature is well equipped to forward its evolution game plan. Natural laws need not and cannot be perfected by human society. Yes, there is a need to create laws to bring order in society. Religious and political systems can do better a better service by controlling the violence (often raged by one set of human beings on other purely for the greed of power and wealth) and environmental degradation which threaten wipe out total human life from this planet. Evolution of human intellect and emotions (thus enabling growth of sensitized individuals and egalitarian society) often gets neglected when focus shifts to procreation and recreation. Human beings no doubts have not been able rise above their predator and prey instincts. Nature has not revealed its game plan – maybe it’ll have the last laugh when human beings themselves will wipe out the human race!!!

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Russia seems like an endless expanse, stretching from the Baltic to Alaska covering almost all of Northern Asia and Central Asia, and of course a major chunk of Europe. The landscape is dotted with thousands of lakes, rivers and smaller streams. At the first glance, it is a country with unmatched natural resources and relatively less affected by exploitation of natural resources. Sergei Balashov says that Russia never had to worry about the quantity but it always has had to worry about the quality.

Russia is a nation that has more water than almost all the world’s population can drink, though it may seem as an exaggeration. Lake Baikal is the world’s largest single source of fresh water. Russia has an enormous quantity of water resources and it would be rather ridiculous to talk about water shortage problems in a nation such as this. However, the shocking truth remains that Russian water resources are so depleted and in need of international attention that it would be almost a crime to say Russia is content with her water resources.

The reality strikes like a hammer on the head when one probes a little and learns about the much talked about and much written about Aral Sea, which strangely has been much forgotten too. The Aral Sea is undoubtedly one of the world’s greatest water resource related losses and reveals what International borders and the lack of cohesion, coherence and communication across the borders can do. The issue with the Aral Sea has been the break up with the Soviet Union and the resulting politicization of the Aral Sea. The former Soviet Republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and a few others have bickered and launched verbal attacks against each while the water vanished and the remaining liquid is enriched with radio active substances, heavy metal and other contaminants. Aral Sea virtually died.

That is not the end of the former Soviet Union’s water woes. Right in the heart of Russian diplomacy and military affairs, Ossetia and Georgia have been implicated in a bitter conflict related to water. The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Georgians of turning the irrigation issue with South Ossetia in to an ugly scene where Russia has more to lose and less to gain. Georgia on the other hand risks consequences especially after the water pipeline that passes through its territory was damaged by residents, obviously in response to the Russian military actions. Breakaway South Ossetia could any day block water supplies to the Georgian people which are meant for irrigational purpose.

There is of course a lot of water in the region. The hammer strikes harder the second time when one realizes that water shortages could occur even when there really IS a lot of water. During conflicts, pipelines and dams could prove to be a greater threat than weapons of mass destruction or even crude oil. Wars have already been fought because of water and the future has a lot in store for us if water woes and conflicts are not recognized and handled. It would become the responsibility of international diplomacy to ensure water does not get pulled in to conflicts and that there is always a continuous supply of water even in the midst of bitter conflicts.

However, the situation could be described as being bleak, for water resources all across the world are depleting and especially so in the Middle East. The repercussions could be catastrophic. Perhaps Russia must concentrate more on ensuring water supply to Georgia and Georgia could in turn ensure that the pipelines in its territory are well protected. That could perhaps be the first step in resolving the bitter conflict between Russia and Georgia with South Ossetia being the centre of focus.

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Being Third World isn’t all too pathetic. People in these deepest darkest corners of the globe are used to hardship that this global financial crisis does not cause a surge in suicide and violence rates. In a time like this, the matter of tolerance threshold becomes the level playing field.

People in the so-called Third World, more a term of political economy, are far more resilient. Their emotional and mental strength in a time of economic crisis comes from their sense of forbearance. The endurance springs from an almost total lack of material paranoia.

Repossession of homes and land will not cause sleepless nights of agony because homelessness is the norm.

Loss of healthcare policies and benefits is not a worry because there is hardly any institutionalized healthcare for the majority, anyway.

Dwindling personal savings in banks hardly cause a stir because bank savings are only for those who have extra income to keep unused.

The experience of businesses tumbling down is practically unheard of. Most businesses for the majority of the population (only for those who have, indeed, set up some form of small or medium sized enterprises), belong to the underground economy where there are no taxes paid and, hence, no credit or loans from financial institutions can be availed of.

While money is rational in its utilitarian function, there is something inherently immoral with the banking system. Money kept in banks grows for the owner while being operationally stagnant at his level. The banks consequently use it for all and sundry purposes. But that money isn’t circulated as it is where economic freedom should be. Therefore, this phenomenon only contributes to the fact that there is less currency to be used in paying services and skill. The Third World relies heavily on labor economies (services and skill). Stretch the imagination a bit more and one can easily grasp the reason why poverty is prevalent in the Third World.

The morality and legality of the underground economy should be judged against the morality and legality of hypercapitalism. Underground economies exist where economic freedom is smallest. The question of morality with underground economies should be evaluated alongside the question of morality with the banking system. For instance, the moral and legal issues of piracy of copyrighted media should be considered along with the moral and legal issues of bank loan schemes whose fine print is actually a death sentence. The dichotomy of these two phenomena may not be too far fetched when one sees it within the purview of the freedom from want, a basic human right.

During this global recession, the poor man’s mind is essentially freer. His thinking is comparatively more optimistic. He has far less to lose, after all.

In the poor man’s mind, he always sees himself at the start of the line, looking forward with hope for a better life somewhere out there. The rich, on the other hand, sees himself at the end of the line, looking back to how life used to be better. In this global economic meltdown, the tables are turned.

While the situation of the poor may be deemed bleak, poor people are never hopeless. When one eats deprivation for breakfast, a lunch of a plate of instant noodles isn’t too bad.

People in the Third World are construed as pitiable. Think again. Wretchedness is a mind thing. The name Third World has been further euphemized to developing countries. Hence, there is always some form of development that is up and coming. It is never hopeless. On the contrary, it is always hopeful.

Those who think that the term ‘Third World’ is pejorative would do well to read up more current news.

This question has been doing rounds in one neighbourhood for past couple of months.  There are three important words used in the above question which can place this local insignificant issue in bigger global context. Human attitude is best manifested at micro level and holds mirror to the culture of a place.

Here is a small background from where this question and debate started. Above picture shows a small green patch in an apartment complex – ‘Landscaped Garden’, an important trump card and showcase of the housing project from its very inception. The other facilities include club house (open for all residents and their children) with modern gym, play room (with chess, carrom, pool, table tennis, and also basket ball, volley ball court on the roof), a community hall with banquet facility for social functions and a swimming pool. Another important fact is that this green patch with jogging track is a common space for some 500 residents!

So, there is already an answer to ‘where’ of the above question. There are enough options for the boys to play, but their choice is the game of cricket (similar to baseball) with a hard ball that can break window panes and damage cars. So natural demand is to open up this restricted ‘Landscaped garden’ (where only barefoot toddlers, joggers, residents are allowed for soaking in sun and fresh air). With nearly 200 families already residing and many with children, this move will surely turn the green lawn into dusty playground. Added threats of damage to window panes and cars will remain unsolved. It would be wiser move to encourage ‘boys’ to play other games which are available. But that is not going to happen. Why?

First of all it is human instinct to want to ‘use’ all available land that they own. This attitude of ownership and right to destroy has lead planet to climate change and global warming. We have cut forest, trees for human dwellings and enterprise. Now in spite of choked lungs in the crowded city we don’t like to think deeper and make that small extra effort to save the green. Ironically, it is also true that all builders and architects are being forced to accommodate green space in their plans, precisely for environmental concerns. There is an active green bench in all courts of the lands. Saving planet from perils of climate change and global warming is top priority of UN, Obama and all world leaders. Big changes are being implemented to cut carbon emission. But majority of residents want to be one large happy family oblivious to all harsh realities. Moreover the arguments say that greenery can be restored and green grass and plants amount to very little oxygen. Wish one could restore greenery around the globe so easily!

Secondly, there is an economic angle to this tale as well. Once this green patch becomes unrestricted, it’ll be easier to host social functions and religious festivals. Modern day festivals bank heavily on advertising. The stage for showcasing talent of residents has sponsors eyeing potential customers among the residents. It is easier to erect makeshift stages on ground rather than the concrete. This is important because we all need fun and entertainment and we need all the money to float in this momentary happiness. Maybe we need money and fun, even more than the oxygen that lush green grass can offer.

Now come to next two important words – ‘boys’ and ‘play’. There are an equal number of girls living in the campus. No demand has been put forth for their recreation and play. In fact the swimming pool is open on all sides and naturally conservative Indian families do not allow girls to swim in open. But yet no one till date has made a request for privacy. Why? Because harder truth is girls are still not encouraged to play or engage in outdoor physical activity. The stereotype demands that boys should be aggressive to be macho men and girls be docile giggling cute beauties. If a girl joins boys cricket team then she becomes ‘tom’ boy.

Important bitter truth is that, it is our society which encourages gender stereotypes and men to be aggressive and dominating. Instead of nurturing sensitive individuals who’ll protect and care, we teach them to assert, destroy and dominate. We tend to believe that we are demigods on a free ride on this planet, owning it all only to destroy. No doubt we are standing as desenstized souls on the brink of an abyss, reaping only bitter fruits of globalisation.

Let us not spoil the Christmas and New Year party. These are hard times – recession and terror attacks have only made them worse. But this is the time of the year to count our blessings for being alive and for being able to think about small, big moments of happiness.

There are always reasons to celebrate. Those who have lost their jobs should be happy to have had one in the first place and for being spirited enough to look for new openings. Those who have lost their lives under various circumstances be it suicide or terror attack or accident or disease are already beyond pain. And many who are mourning loss of dear ones have no other choice but to put the chin up, find reasons to carry on and count their blessings for being alive.

Amnesia + Ignorance = Bliss, is the new formula for the happiness.  The more you forget all pains, the better you are. The less you know, the less you think and better you float in happiness. Not convinced? Suppose it’s a splurge fun party, is there any reason to think about how many hungry people that money can feed?  No need remember all those UN statistics about hungry and homeless. Forget it. Also what is the point of knowing all this state of the poor in the world? Awareness is not going to feed people and help planet survive. So it is best to be ignorant.

Christmas tree looks cool but where are all the trees disappearing? One can’t stop fall of leaves in the autumn and deforestation in developing nation. It is too hot and humid. Close the windows and put on the AC and think about global warming with cool heads. Put on some music and rock on. Forget the world for this one moment of togetherness and fun. All are going to be dead anyways.

Can’t forget grim realities of life? There another option. Get dead drunk and get the bitterness out, be a spoilt brat. Go blank (forget reality) and crash – another blissful state.

No need to think deeply about anything. No need to find reasons. For believers – fate and faith can take care of destiny. What is Fate? What is Faith? And Destiny? The basic axiom is not to ask any questions. For non-believer and cynics – world is absurdly messed up place governed by crooks and with no room for any correction.

It is basic right of the informed and educated to be liberated and have enough freedom and reasons for fun and joy. We own our slice of life, we have right to do anything with it. We have the right to ignore and forget the grim realities or even that scream from neighbour’s house. Privacy is supreme. Denial is the best state of being.

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Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds the thought of victory and the thought of punishing the enemy coincide.

Barbara Deming

The fight for land has always been raging. Avenging some other people’s incursion into one’s own land becomes a grand spectacle of violence. People, too, revenge against those that take back the land they have comfortably settled on. The former is avenging invasion. The latter is revenging infringement on human rights. Terrorism is not too far from where these concepts lie.

Terrorism comes with a few buzzwords such as oppression, injustice, persecution, revenge, self-sacrifice, patriotism, autonomy, national sovereignty, extremism, death – and all their attendant synonyms. When all these concepts come together in one explosive end, with great force and to an excessive degree, it becomes vengeance.

Blood is spilled at that moment. Lots of it.

Wreaking havoc is said to be the business of radical Islamists. Many a times we’ve heard that they do so out of vengeance. They are out to revenge the persecution of their lot through the millennia (or for much more recent turn of events, with most). The heart of a terrorist is full of hatred and wrath. That, we know. His mind is sharp only in terms of brainwashed dictum and dogma. This, we have an inkling, too.

Their clamor is self-determination. That’s a technocratic way of saying they want the piece of land that they have settled on. They want self-rule. That’s a bureaucratic way of saying they want to be able to govern themselves and collect some form of taxes for their own. They want to impose their own brand of law, and be able to perpetuate their definitions of order and control. Their imperialistic streak, though, is coming late in the day. But all these concepts are not unique to radical Islamism.

If one looks closely, there is essentially no difference among the different campaigns of those who want to occupy land. The motive of radical Islamists that want to occupy Somalia or the West Bank is the same as the intent of Tamil Eelam. Is there really a difference between what the Hamas are fighting for and what the Fatah want? To be able to occupy and rule their portion of Mindanao is what Bangsamoro in the Philippines is fighting for. The tribal groups in the Amazon have suffered countless deaths in the hands of farmers who have been quickly inching their way into tribal land.

The conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region started as a territorial dispute between nomads and pastoralists. Nomads have been encroaching on farming communities in Darfur for many years. This dispute has been used for further and more wicked political ambition whose price is paid in genocidal proportions.

Colombia’s military incursion into Ecuador is the current focal point of a crisis that challenges three Andean nations. Paraguay’s government has mobilized stronger police force into a poor rural region where peasant farmers demanding land redistribution have threatened to invade Brazilian-owned ranches.

There are common trends in all these. Tensions, escalating numbers of deaths, and the very reason behind the violence are all the same. All for the occupation of land.

Singur and Nandigram in India had been hotspots of violence because corporate mafias grab land for the sake of putting up SEZs. Violent attacks meant to neutralize peasants in the rural hinterland of the state of West Bengal, undertaken by the police and hoodlums who were let loose on the peasants, were done in the name of development. This is one of the uglier angles of the imperialist design of globalization.

‘Neo-colonialism’ is a relatively newfangled fad. Purchase of millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries by rich governments and corporations, for purposes of securing their long-term food supplies, is the newest rage. This is the second wave of the ‘scramble for Africa.’ Abu Dhabi buys arable land in Pakistan. Saudi Arabia invests in Indonesia for the farming of rice. Laos has sold 15 percent of its farmlands. Libya buys a quarter of a million hectares in Ukraine. Cambodia rice fields will soon go to Kuwait and Qatar. All these are at the expense of the lowly local farmers. It won’t take long before the poor realize that they are actually being wrung in ill-fitting deals. Something is terribly askew with these arrangements, and it will only take some time before local farmers rise up in arms to avenge their oppressive situation.

At the end of the day, it is not about ethnic cleansing or religious fundamentalism, or political extremism that terrorism is all about. It is also ridiculous that protests heading towards armed violence are promptly called terrorism when it is really nothing more than the fight for land, in most cases. An armed struggle that is carried out with extreme violence. A grand showcase of vengeance. Those who witness the wrath of the oppressed have not learned the lessons of history.

For those who fight for their land, the land must really be worth their lives because blood has spilled on it.

It is the continuing saga of globalization – yet the biggest imperialist design. And in the attempt to balance the scale, vengeance will never run out of use.

The central fact is that overwhelmingly suicide-terrorist attacks are not driven by religion as much as they are by a clear strategic objective:  to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland.   From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, every major suicide-terrorist campaign — over 95 percent of all the incidents — has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to withdraw.

Robert Pape
Associate Professor
University of Chicago
Author, “Dying to Win”

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Sometimes we all seem to be trapped in Kafka’s world of alienation and fear of persecution. Psychologists, psychiatrists have been sifting through layers of human mind and intellect to find answers to the various illness of the mind. Mind, unlike body, is a fairly unknown terrain and hence diagnosis and treatment becomes a matter of debate.

The reason to delve into depth of human psyche here is manifold. Thanks to communication technology world indeed seems to be global village but yet each day while we try to build these bridges across the globe through social networking we seem to be losing out on our natural instinct to bond with other people and specially children. The suicide rates are forever going up. The family, basic mental support system of a child, is more fragile than ever. This lonely child grows up to become a frustrated and sadist individual with no compassion and passion for creative pursuits but a fury to kill and destroy. Loneliness, alienation and fear of persecution can be treated better with compassion and better innovative ways rather than with modern medicines which tend to calm the nerves by putting them to sleep. 

Sadly, the outer world is grappling with new self created demons and devils itself. Terrorism, materialistic world and inflation are only adding to the woes of the mind. Killings are desensitizing human mind, materialistic pursuit cannot feed the human soul and inflation woes never allow the mind to be free to think beyond next meal. There is no time for poetry, imaginary, dreams or any fairy tales. Death of human imagination is visible in all the unresolved problems discussed in all the posts below. Be it gross violation of human and child rights, terrorism, war on terrorism, state of women and children in third world, misinformation (be it AIDS or simple clinical depression) in the era of information technology and modern media, there are enough pointers to how desensitized and compassionless materialistic world has become. We are staring at an abyss and there is no turning back.

In this modern trendy world there is no time to think about this vital healing power of human imagination and compassion. Modern day Van Gogh or Kafka has no support system of family or friends to help battle personal demons and treasure the masterpieces for future. They have to move into asylums, where their art maybe displayed and auctioned by some NGOs. Their works often die on the walls of elite homes. On the other hand the fury of poor alienated children and youth have become potential arsenal for militant groups.  Child soldiers of Congo and child recruits by militant groups are a reality.

Unfortunately there is increased alienation with greater fear of prosecution and absolutely no freedom from the agonies of the soul. Distances between two human minds have increased in proportion to the so called shrinking of globe. Trust is rare. As we stand guarding our supreme privacy and building tall firewalls we are losing the glimpse of imprisoned and dying lonely soul.  Beauty and the beast residing in every human soul may have vital keys to correct some aberrations of the modern world. Corrections should start from inside out.

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Today, December 10, is celebration of human rights across the globe. This day is a reminder that atrocities committed by man against man know no bounds (nor borders). They have also known no abatement. It’s been 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was passed, yet man has grown even less humane. While sundry laws have been enacted to stem the oppression of fellow human beings, human rights violations have just grown more sophisticated, even suave.

Civilians still suffer from cluster munitions and land mines. Tribal communities and indigenous peoples remain unrecognized because there really have been no concrete means to bridge them to mainstream societies. Refugees remain entities who do not enjoy the full benefits given by the state, by either their host countries or countries of origin. Discrimination against gender and homosexuality has remained to undermine basic human rights.

Torture remains a viable police and military tactic that has proven to be an imperative functional tool in the processing of intelligence. In spite of a global ban on torture, such institutions as the secret CIA prisons in Guantanamo still exist where ‘wakeboarding’ a.k.a water torture is de rigueur especially for its so-called ‘platinum prisoners.’

Tyrants continue to disguise themselves with the cloak of democracy. Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Russia, and China are just some of the countries that erroneously claim to be democracies but are actually tyrannical regimes where everything from silencing the media to controlling social welfare programs are done by a despot and his cohorts. Surely, they are aware that electoral fraud and manipulation of the electoral machinery are human rights violations, too. Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Chad, Philippines, Azerbaijan, and Zimbabwe are only some of those that are guilty of these. Political violence is the more blatant manifestation of human rights violation. Democracy does not have a legal definition. That is why any government can have a free rein in order to earn the democracy label. But the human rights law requires suffrage and the opportunity of citizens to freely participate in the conduct of public affairs. Hence, democracy is a sham in these despotic nations.

In authoritarian states that rule by the power of the gunpowder, Russia and China are as much violators of human rights as those that rule when they continue to sell ammunition to these regimes. The US violates human rights when it fans the flame of animosity between India and Pakistan that has resulted in violent attacks costing human lives.

Radical Islamists still recruit child soldiers because the definition of child in the Qur’an is a person 7 years old and below. Anyone older than 7 is no longer a child and can, therefore, be obliged to fight in their armed jihad.

Free trade and globalization have brought about the phenomenon of dirt cheap labor. Pathetic labor conditions in all of the factories that sprang out of trade liberalization are all violations of human rights. The World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, big business, and multinational corporations are all organized institutions that commit organized violations of human rights.

The biggest human rights violations are those that come in the form of global conspiracies by nations with hegemonic designs. War on Terror and Islamophobia, AIDS, and Climate Change are all alarmist conspiracies meant to dupe and delude the entire humanity with their mind-boggling hoaxes and power of nightmares.

The United Nations and the World Health Organization conspire with big pharma to make the world believe that AIDS is a pandemic when the HIV virus itself is a hoax. The physical wasting of AIDS victims are due to the harshness of AIDS drugs, the earliest of which is a chemotherapy treatment. The AIDS estimate uses cumulative totals. That is why we are informed of mind-boggling figures.

The War on Terror has neatly managed to propagandize the notion that all Muslims are terrorists, when the US invasion of Iraq has less to do with 9/11 and more because creating a war in the Middle East will assure the US of cordoning off Saudi Arabian oil. Saudi Arabia owns 20 percent of all usable discovered oil on the planet and the US is the top oil guzzler in the world.

The grand campaign to address climate change on a global scale has managed to make people believe that the planet is heading towards doomsday when the big carbon emitters are just passing the bucket. Not one of these huge CO2 belchers would want to admit guilt, so the next best thing is to let every Tom, Dick, and Harry know that his so-called personal carbon footprint is causing the planet to melt.

Deceit and propaganda are seemingly subtle yet extremely palpable violations of human rights.

For every Darfur, Rwanda, or DR Congo, there is a child in deepest darkest Third World who has to walk 6 kilometers to school at five o’clock in the morning along a muddy rutted road.

For every desaparecido and family, as well as victim of summary execution and extra-judicial killing, there is an AIDS patient who has to scrounge for $200 dollars per single AIDS drug cocktail.

For every multinational garment corporation that has sweatshops dotted from China to the Pacific, there is a migrant domestic helper who makes the paltry amount of $120 for a month’s work on practically 24/7 labor with no vacation break and lack of food.

For every war crime of genocidal proportions, there is a battered wife who chooses not to leave her abusive husband because she has nowhere to go.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols comprise the International Bill of Human Rights that has taken the force of an international law.

All these mandates are really toothless and lame in the light of the sophisticated underhandedness and crafty subtleness that human rights are violated today.

Criminal culpability is a Herculean effort to detect, measure, and determine.

Complicity is a blur.

With these realities, human rights violations are near impossible to deter.

For every victim of human rights violation, there is another one who does not even know he is a victim.

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