Another page in the thinning book is turned. The plot thickens but is hardly original. The characters are incredibly “flat” — to use a Forsterian term — and leave much to be desired. The syntax is warped and at times hardly comprehensible. Yet we continue to read and suffer.
The past week has been a media fest recalling and summarizing the past year for you, in case you forgot or missed something. A sorry tale of blood and anguish is the result. It began with the invasion of Iraq and ended with the earthquake in Iran where thousands died. There is hardly peace on earth and the goodwill part is as extinct as the dinosaurs.
On the domestic front, 2003 has been the year of revelation. We are told that 4,000 terrorists/suspects/bad apples (perhaps I should say dates, considering the locale), call them what you wish, have been “arrested.” On the face of it, this is good news. Upon reflection, however, the issue is more sinister than the obvious. Given the size of our population, this number is terrifyingly high. This uncomfortable factoid begs many a question. Where have they been hiding all these years? How were they tolerated as they dug their holes into the fabric of our existence? Who is ultimately responsible for breeding and protecting such dangerous offspring? Some readers are probably expecting the word America to pop up in relation to answers to these and other questions. Well, it won’t. And for a good reason: This is our problem.
Personally, I have a question: Will we ever see these people put on trial publicly so we (and the rest of the world) can understand this phenomenon? Politicians and security people notwithstanding, this is a treasure trove for psychiatrists, theologians, social workers, philosophers, poets, novelists, and a plethora of would-be assassins. This mental AIDS of our times deserves to be studied carefully, if only to develop an antidote.
Considering the givens in this place, 2004 looks pretty much the same as the previous page. One need not brush up on divination skills to see that, powerful as our July sun is, this virus will not be burned out in a “natural” way. Human intervention is needed. We asked for outside help to build our highways, power plants, hospitals, airports, palaces, and even our mosques. Why can’t we be big enough to ask for help in this domain too? Only the strong are confident enough to admit a weakness. Surely the turbulent history of the Middle East has taught us that the strong go to war because they must while the weak go to war because they want to. We are in a must situation, and the world will inevitably pronounce its verdict. Anyone listening out there?
