Posts Tagged ‘Desensitization’
“Where Will Boys Play?”
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!
Alienation and Fear of Persecution
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.
Desensitization Towards Human Suffering
Hostage crises have failed to attract mainstream attention like it used to earlier. A reason perhaps is the fact that people are now desensitized to killing and shootings as a person or a group being held hostage is practically of no consequence to either governments or the masses. In fact, desensitization to crime and violence is so much that recently when two Austrians were held hostage by the North African branch of Al-Qaeda in Mali, it failed to garner any attention at all.
After 8 months when the two hostages, Andrea Kloiber and Wolfgang Ebner were released from their sandy captivity, it again failed to create any sense of excitement either in Austria or elsewhere. Unfortunate as it is, people look for statistics and not the human suffering behind the numbers.
A single person’s suffering deserves the same importance as a group of 100 people’s suffering does.
