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Myth
is reality
“Knowledge
is a bane which in wrong hands becomes the curse.”
The thing about cancer
is; it’s hard to detect in its’ initial stages, and once detected, if the
patient won’t act to get treated, it goes away only with life. If you know something
is wrong with the society, then waiting for it to get fixed by itself won’t fix
it. When the people you trusted your nation and society with, they betray your
society and work on hidden agendas promoting certain individuals, then your
silence won’t awaken their conscience. You can look them in their eyes with
innocence brimming out of your own, and all they will see is a ‘pitiable slave’
in you, like a bully having a good time at the expense of his victim. Human
nature since ages! Rulers love having slaves! Do you honestly believe that a
man like Mosses, who was himself rescuing a group of slaves from the clutches
of a torturous Egyptian regime, would justify slavery in one of his
commandments? Do you think the God you believe in created people unequal, for
some to be slaves to the others? If the answer is no, then who do you think
added the commandment about slaves in the ‘Ten Commandments’ and then ‘Bible’
(I don’t know about Koran, and Mahabharata condemns slavery as the lowest form
of human life, something a man shouldn’t be subjected to)? It’s always leaders
that humanity trusts, who betray humanity for their selfish ends.
In 1948-49, George
Orwell wrote a very riveting novel about a Dystopian society, a novel which had
often been banned by various governments world over due to its’ content. The
novel is titled “Nineteen Eighty Four”, and what he wrote all those years back,
is exactly what I see playing out in the society today. Let me just address a
few salient features of the novel first, and then compare them to the ground
realities of our world today, just to illustrate my point.
1984 (A novel by
George Orwell)
1. Big
brother is watching you:
This phrase constantly
reminds people that they are being monitored by the government (via TV screens
in the novel).
Intention:
To keep the population under control, and to nip in bud any signs of dissent
against the ruling elite, exhibited by anyone, using “Thought Police”. Nobody
in the society, which is not democratic anymore, can question the small
minority controlling the state.
2. A perpetual state of war:
In the novel, the state
is constantly at war with the other two states, switching sides whenever the
ruling party deems fit. The intention is to keep people scared of the enemy,
and hence make them support the state all the time. The state itself orchestrates
war, to distract people’s attention from other issues, so as to avoid a revolt
on account of miss-governance. The wars’ are generally orchestrated in a way as
to create an impression of a thumping victory over the enemy, akin to putting
the foot down the enemy’s throat and stomping on it, to create a feeling of
euphoria in the hearts of people, so that people love and admire the ruling
elite.
3. Role of media
and modification of history:
In the novel, the
protagonist is a member of the outer party whose job is to alter articles
published in old newspapers, to make their language reflect current ruling
elite policy and line of thought. For example, when Oceania switches sides from
East-Asia to Euro-Asia, the public is made to believe that Oceania had always
been at war with East-Asia, and not Euro-Asia. The media is continuously used
to alter public opinion and psychology, for fear mongering etc.
4.
Psychological handling of dissidents:
Those who question
government actions, and try to challenge it on issues affecting the society,
they are isolated from the community, and broken down psychologically, so as to
re-affirm them to the way of the government. Independent political thought, an
important integral part of democracy, is non-existent in the society, and
government is always correct. The top 2% population controls all the resources,
and is the rich class, about 13% help them govern the society, while everybody
else is just a worker.
Now let us compare this
hypothetical scenario of the novel with the real world we are living in today.
The similarities are disconcerting to say the least, but then, every time an
honest man will speak out and explain to the society what is going wrong, and
what can go wrong, if the society won’t act on his words and safeguard itself,
the nefarious designs of the inherently greedy human race will abuse that
knowledge and cheat the majority. Human beings love to rule other human beings.
Majority was a peasant working in the fields and shops of the minority in
pre-democratic era. Now since democracy has stopped evolving for the last so
many decades, and oligarchy and plutocracy have found a back door to re-emerge,
humanity is destined to work as peasants in their businesses once again. I am
sorry I don’t have any kinder words to define the situation. Let us just get on
with the current topic.
Real life
situation today, how it compares to “1984”, the novel:
1. Government
snooping:
Thanks to Snowden, we
all know how none of our communication (email/telephone) is private anymore.
Intention:
Questionable at best. Human trafficking as well as illicit drug trade, they are
all coordinated using phone/mobiles (I don’t think homing pigeons are in
fashion anymore, or regular post is quick enough to manage on-road
consignments). Yet, just like Boston attacks, hacking of British Soldier, shootings
at Oslo, Colorado theatre or Wisconsin Sikh temple etc, none were ever stopped
by the so called snooping. And I am pretty sure German Chancellor Angela
Merkel, and Indonesian President’s wife are not terrorists. As such, only
reason I can guess is; this snooping will help safeguard ruling
parties/businessmen against vigilante crusaders like myself, who can upset
their malefic intensions apple -carts. It is really easy to single out a
person, collect his personal information, to either scrap off their support
circle, or gather information to blackmail them in case other methods/negotiations
fail. This way, any new democratic leader of the society will not rise and
question the government on its’ policies, thus creating a situation where the
interests of the handful of big businesses controlling current set of political
leaderships will be jeopardized. In fact, while the real honest patriots will
be subdued, media will be used to project their own man as the alternate
answer, with situations doctored to promote him into positive spotlight. Thus
ordinary people will have no savior without an armed revolution. And who can
have guns in Australia/India today, and who will be allowed to have guns in US
tomorrow? The time is running out for democratic societies, if everything is
still to be salvaged peacefully. At risk is peace we all value, or future we
all hope!
2. State of constant
war
The end of Cold War
hasn’t resulted in peace anywhere. The conflict is continuously raging all the
time. Cold War was immediately followed by First Gulf war, and the Second Iraq
invasion (based on false information) has been followed up with the Afghan
conflict. And I don’t see this conflict ending on account of a double game
being played across the globe as explained in detail under the next heading.
But let me just point out how conveniently media has been used to switch sides
(like Oceania switching sides in the novel). In 1971 war NATO was backing
Pakistan. Even during Clinton era, and post 1999 Kargil conflict, Pakistan has
been given lavish financial and military aid, but suddenly now a new love has
been found for India, and a scorn for Pakistan. Western media is suddenly full
of praise for India. Go a few decades back, and India (which was on really good
terms with the then USSR) was being picked out for human rights violations and
persecution of minorities (1984 Anti-Sikh riots, killing of innocent Sikh youth
in Punjab, atrocities in eastern states etc).
Look at the pro-India and anti-Pakistan media outlook today. Even
historical opinions are being adulterated using media, for example by making
public official communications of President Nixon, that point out how it was
Nixon who was anti-India, and couldn’t stand the Americans who loved Indian
democracy. Here’s a news link that sums up traditional views, but in a way that
reflects as if it was just Nixon who was against India, or rather Indira (The
news is from 2005, about time when a policy shift had just started):
And here’s a version of
the events for Indian readers (note the difference in tone):
3. Role of media
and double game:
For someone who reads
news articles being published in both ends of the world; Middle-East (Asia) and
West, I see a definite pattern in events. While news items in Asian region
reflect on Western aggression as an inhuman transgression (like drone attacks
killing children, Israel killing Palestinians, torture and discrimination
against Muslims in west, NATO forces killing Taliban Militia involved in peace
talks with local governments, etc.), western media is full of news that show
Islam as intolerant religion, and Muslims as terrorists. To give you
comparative examples:
a. Media
frenzy in middle-east at burning of Koran by NATO forces, pissing on dead Afghans,
shooting wounded militia etc. And in west, the news blowout post hacking of
British soldier, Boston bombing etc to instigate fear and hatred against
Muslims. You all know how the one side of events affected the views of public
on your side of the world. Now just imagine the effect the other end of news
spectrum on the public at the other side of the world. Remember, you may hear particular
news only once on your side of the world, but such news and many similar news
fill up the media on the other side of the world. Now think: how will there be
peace?
b. Western
media projects Muslims as terrorists, while media in Middle East repeatedly
points out examples that Jihadists have often been trained by western agencies.
Refer to the news item about former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s book
where he mentions how one of the dreaded terrorists on death trail couldn’t be
hanged because he was an agent trained by MI6 to carry out Jihadist work in
Balkan states. Refer to this page and links for news articles provided in it,
and see how it reflects as to the involvement of western intelligence agencies
with terrorist organizations (What effect do you think such news articles will
have on the minds of Muslim youth when they will compare it their ground
reality, that their cities are under attack by the supporters of these men, on
the pretext of killing these men only?):
In
case the links don’t work, here are two alternates:
This is how the war is
being fueled and fed with flesh and blood of innocent ordinary people at either
end of the globe. All this is done, so that ordinary people world over cannot
unite into one, for if there will be peace, then people will have the time to
think about issues affecting their lives, like outsourcing of their jobs,
wiping out of their small businesses from the market, the constantly increasing
grasp of a few huge business houses (and families in case of Indian
sub-continent, much like Mughal dynasty) on the Government, thus making
democracy slip out of the hands of ordinary people. If you cannot have your own
small businesses because it is unaffordable now, or because corporate giants
(Grocers, furniture houses, fast-food joints, fashion stores) will whip you out
of the market (delis, small grocers, coffee kiosks, clothing retailers etc),
and your jobs are going to be outsourced (where are Holden, Ford and Mitsubishi
going from Australia), what are you living for?
Thanks to FDI, Indians
will find themselves in the same situation within the next 5-10 years, and the
second rate political leaders they are banking upon, the ones’ who don’t even
know the real issues, leave alone having the foresight to make India a
super-power, they are going to make sure the next five years are a punishment
to Indians for not standing up behind the true patriots. This is the second
time in the last 70 years that Indians have opted for second rate political
leaders. Doesn’t matter who Indians vote for in 2014, none of their new or old
political leaders have the intentions, foresight, or intelligence to nail the
real problems. Else tell me, why is it me who is always talking about FDI even
so long after the initial damage? Why it is me who knows what is wrong with the
“Food bill”, and how Indians have been cheated once again? Why is none of the
Indian leaders, both old and new, speaking out? Why is it that Manmohan Singh
was labeled a Gandhi Family puppet for his entire tenure as PM of India, and
now that elections are near, he is being projected as the man behind the mess
all along? Why was Rahul Gandhi quiet when he could have actually done
something for India, and why is he shouting out his mouth today when all time
has been lost? Why hasn’t Narendra Modi promised so far, that the first thing
he will do if he wins the elections is, roll back the FDI decision? And why is
the new kid, oh well, let’s not talk about him, for he doesn’t even know what
the real issues are. He has been quiet all along, so I might as well stay mum
about him. Why give him unnecessary mileage when Indian media is already doing
well for him?
4.
Psychological handling:
It’s really a shame
that when people should be talking about issues affecting their lives and
societies, they are talking about a girl stripping on stage and rubbing her
back on a man’s torso. It’s a shame that the most influential woman media can
find is the one whose claim to fame is stripping on stage and going nude in
videos. Perhaps promoting nudity is the best possible influence a woman can
have on contemporary women today. Perhaps women stripping in something as frivolous
as a music video, to be watched at home by kids and families is the best precedent
to be set. Perhaps people should be more worried about their daughters walking
down the street nude than their government selling their interests nude.
Besides, when all big leaders are funny as hell, all rich brats are cool
flaunting their cash and making the most ridiculous statements, it’s the duty
of ordinary people to love them. Who cares about the work they are doing, as
long as they are pleasant to look at in media. After all, everybody loves Big
brother in “1984”. After all, it’s only the image in media that counts. And if
you love your leaders and owners, you should be happy to be their slaves. Ask
the teenage girls and boys who love Beibers and One Directions, some even
claiming them to be their daddy’s. I on the contrary wonder; was it their
mother who used to date them, or are they a result of sperm banks? Low lives
always make best slaves! Those who don’t have pride, they never fight for their
rights, or for the welfare of society. Your next generation is already being
prepared! Why else have I struggled to get media attention in the last three
years even after so much work?
Fatal Urge Carefree
Kiss “Amanpreet Singh Rai”
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