When people are forced on the streets to bring their grievances to the fore, it would appear society is fraying under stress. But there are times when solutions to all-pervasive ills are evasive, and it looks like we are now facing such times. Thankfully, others that threatened our very existence seem to have been put away when the good across the world asserted their combined will in no unmistakable ways. Nuclear weapons and terrorism got their due attention and forced into retreat every time they threatened to go overboard, but we are still faced with other issues that gnaw at our core.
We are far away from peaceful coexistence; forget any utopia around the corner! Our societies are under stress with lack of compassion, empathy and understanding being at the root of our ills. We have no leader who unites us but left with those with warts and all, too glaring and troubling for some! They come to the forefront not with an agenda to unite society, but in a way, taking advantage of the rifts caused by conventional systems of governance coming unstuck.
The real progress will be achieved only when there is unity of purpose; that comes when all play a part in the solution of the pressing issues. But our society refuses to unite but presses on, flying off on a tangent, to tackle issues piecemeal. The solutions proffered divide the society; confuse the man in the street, forcing many to be literally to camp in the streets. Such actions test the patience of those who want peaceful, cooperative resolutions; a hallmark of successful democratic systems, the backbone of free societies.
It is clear those coming to the forefront appeal more to negativity than to unify us. They are more adept at putting down their rivals than articulating actions needed in a convincing manner through compassion, empathy and understanding. In the name of freedom and democracy, we are endlessly on a debate mode, but far away from putting out the raging fires engulfing peaceful life from many corners. Those eking out a living are increasingly caught in the crossfire, and unable to find solace from any quarter.
Governments change, but are we anywhere near to tackling our issues? We do need unity of purpose to put national, or more importantly, interests of the vast disadvantaged at the forefront to perceive the issues from a dispassionate mode and thereby find clear-cut solutions.
The political landscape is more dramatic than democratic by the day. Many aspiring leaders have histrionic abilities, but how will they fare when they need to solve our problems that are overpowering us. Some of their words and actions come to haunt them later! There can never be closed door solutions; we are intertwined as one-world more and more by the day. We need leaders who can see the broader picture of shared destiny that beckons us.
We swim or sink together is the reality of the day. One man’s debt is another’s anxious wait for settlement. Debtor needs to honor his dues and the creditor has also to be in tune with the heartbeat of the debtor and vice versa! A world endowed with more of compassion, empathy and understanding, and certainly not one riven by distrust, will make all the difference to our shared destiny!