I will begin with a confession. I have a bleak outlook about the human race. Despite being proud of the human intellect and being unable to transcend our fundamental philosophy that is rooted in self centeredness, I believe that Humans are perhaps not among the better things that happened to this planet. I also believe, with all my heart, that given the style of our contemporary lives we have lost out on the little good that earlier men possessed. We are driven by an overwhelming sense of materialism coupled with callous apathy toward anything that may not be of profit to us.
Secondly, I think democracy is a complete disaster. Democracy is of the people which is not a good thing anymore, by the people where in today’s world there is only buy the people and for the people which translates as for the people who run the democracy. It is a system that we cling onto for want of something better. In the moral crisis stricken world that we live in democracy can occasionally provide glimpses of the morally upright people that some part of us (the heart it should be assuming it still has some power left) yearns to be through the media, an occasional Human Rights issue or an instance of justice being dispensed to the innocent and powerless. Although the media is accused of sensationalism, Human Rights issues dominate headlines for only a few days before fading away without a hint of a solution and the fact that these rare cases of justice dispensed occurs only after a delay of decades, democracy ensures that something can happen, if only rarely, that can help us slightly appease our ever-rising guilt at the type of race we are gradually transforming or rather disintegrating into.
Thirdly, I believe the framework of the philosophy of human choices has gone wrong somewhere, if not altogether, during the course of our evolutionary process. Our Right to Choice which is perhaps the defining element of the Homo-Sapiens has radically transmuted into an ability that enables us to constantly and completely hurt others, hurt ourselves and develop a bent of mind that curiously fails to remember morals or obligations when lured by personal gain. We claim that we are only as good as the world allows us to be but why do we choose to let others define the way we should act? The courage to take the road less taken seems to have dissolved in the reckless thirst for selfish gains and indifference to the consideration of others.
In this scenario we find that we are nothing more than a species that is wholly selfish, albeit with an ability to make that seem acceptable, living in a system that is a breeding ground for even worse people and attitudes formed as a result of a lifetime of making choices that benefit nobody but ourselves.
The sole solution to this problem is to establish totalitarianism. An order inspired by an individual who will make choices as they are meant to be made – to benefit the maximum number of people possible. Someone who will establish a much-needed contemporary version of democracy by being for the people and of the people but not necessarily selected by the people simply because people will not choose what is necessary but what they wrongly presume to be so. Someone who can inspire the future generations to revert to the environment and people friendly people we once were whilst not compromising on some of the ways of modern living.
The problem with the solution is that keeping in mind that a majority of the people have fallen prey to the monotony of the selfish lives that they have grown to love and that people inspire other people especially where negative thoughts are concerned, it becomes almost utopian to look for a leader who can, more importantly will, break free from the confines of the lifestyle of today and be strong enough to face strong opposition while pursuing his goal for a new world order. But the key factor is that the search for such a person is almost impossible, not wholly undoable. Any Britisher would have laughed at the idea of an ordinary man in loin cloth ousting them from India; we would have shamelessly, in the past, laughed at the idea of a female President.
People always show staunch resistance to change. For a majority it means moving out of a familiar territory. It therefore necessitates that any new thought or idea must pass through total ridicule and laughter. Sometimes, ridicule can be a sign of the pragmatism of the idea which people are trying to destroy but pretending the idea is hilarious when within they are wondering if the idea could be a reality one day.
The way to free ourselves from this chaotic situation lies not in searching for a leader to rein in the change. The answer lies in kindling the dying embers of the loving people we want to be; in removing the blinkers of selfishness and capitalistic attitude. The world economy today is a poignant example of the result of reckless exploitation and while the economy recovers it is the perfect time for our attitude to reform too.
We must try and put our own desires on a lesser scale of priority. We must try and look at others and the planet in perspective too. We must keep the whole picture in mind. Our choices must be defined not by what we desire but by what our duties are. Our democracy should instill faith in the future and not train them to be terrorists in their own way. We are confined within the tinted perceptions of our own mind where, in this funny system of living, we feel that who we are is only half as important as who are perceived to be. It is what we think, it is what we believe in and it is what we do that defines us. If we have the courage to be different, we will lend courage to others lacking the faith in being unselfish. We need to go beyond what we want. The purpose of this change, this dream, is not to crush the choice of people but to protect them against it. In our times of organized anarchy the choices that people make are not good enough. They deserve more; they deserve to have their true self unveiled. Because we are but people and sometimes we need to be protected from our choices against our own choice….
It required one Mahatma Gandhi to inspire millions, it required one Bill Gates to accumulate billions of dollars, it required one Edison to light up this world. It requires one thought from us to create a change. A change that will change the world we live in, a change that will change the people we love and love with; a change that will change the future.
We know many great leaders; some of them were born leaders, some of them chose to be leaders but some of the very best had leadership thrust on them because someone believed in their idea of change. While the scenario demands leadership at its very best, it is possible for each one of us to rise to the occasion. Each one of us can be that leader who will bring the difference. Each one of us can be a part of that Dream. Each one of us can play a role in transforming that dream into reality.
All glory comes from daring to begin. We must have the courage and determination to go beyond the ridicule, ahead of criticism and believe in the change we stand for. We may still fall, stumble and make mistakes but the whole point of the exercise is to avoid making mistakes willfully right?
