Whatsapp Wars

 Even more dangerous than Ukraine-Russia and Iran- US/Israel, these are the wars you see everyday, and feel tempted to participate in- The Whatsapp wars.. on a device near you!

These can rage on forever, until you exit the group, or they throw you out, in case you are the incendiary chap! Totally macho, like real wars- mostly men participate in these too.

The topic is not very relevant, but in India, since 2014 at least, it's about how X has done so much for the nation, in the face of anti-national elements who want to stop him, or the reverse. It takes two hands to clap.

Mostly, the fake news propaganda memes are used as weapons of construction- of the scenario one is pushing. The resilience of the soldiers is more than the Ukrainians and Iranians put together. These wars don't have an expiry date.

Everyone seems to have 'inside' info on various things, more than the Dhurandhar director ever did.

And so, they go on.. a good pastime after retirement, maybe.

Wars at Will

 It's becoming a pandemic, with world leaders the most susceptible.

Starting wars, I mean. Look around in the last few years. More than any other problem, Coronavirus excluded, it's the manmade ones that are endemic. 

The Russian and the American (and a couple of others) heads of state seem to think it's their playground. They can get up one fine morning and declare a war. Or Abduct Heads of State.

The U.N. watches helplessly. 

If China were to take over Taiwan, the same jokers would preach differently. Or if North Korea were to attack South Korea.

A democracy should probably have a referendum, like that for Brexit, when an offensive is to be launched. The laws must hold a Head of State guilty for a war that nobody in the country wants.

Uprisings in Bangla Desh and Nepal have underscored that unpopular governments or leaders can be unseated by popular will. Some day, it might happen in the bigger nations.

Innocence Lost in Lanka and Elsewhere

There was a time when governments fought wars over territory, or colonials conquered the armamentally backward for commercial gain, all through history. Dictators occasionally chipped in with murder and mayhem, but at most of these times, common people got along well, and there was an age of innocence among them. It seems that those innocent times are now history. It is no longer an army participating in an officially declared war with some rules (Dharma Yuddh?), but anyone who has a grouse getting up and killing anyone who may or may not have had anything to do with the creation of that grouse.

Where all this will lead, is anybody's guess. This could be the time for good governance to kick in, and show that it can bring humanity back from the precipice where it finds itself. More than all the nukes in the stockpiles of the nuclear powers, this is the trend that is likely to eliminate humanity. Not sure how much of it remains, after the regular spate of killings by individuals and organisations that see no other alternatives to killing other humans.

Hopefully, there is still some hope..

Influential Thinkers

As I was listening to a presentation by students in my course on Thought Leadership, my thoughts wandered. To our college days. The reason? Funnily enough, the Age of Reason, and the author who propagated that line of thinking. Ayn Rand was the topic of the presentation. She was as popular back then, as she is now. Rarely would you come across a college student who doesn't adore her books like The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Difficult to come across such a clear-headed propounder of any philosophy of life.

Another line from an article in a newspaper crossed my mind too. This was a statement made by Edward De Bono, author of Lateral Thinking. He says, we have stopped thinking, for many years. That is a pretty strong statement, but it makes some sense. When was the last time we thought carefully, about anything? If we did, individually and collectively (according to Ayn Rand, collectivism is always a compromise of individual thoughts, because only individuals can think), no problem is without a sensible solution. But instead we usually choose dogma, tradition, or fall prey to false egos and worship false Gods.

We also had a presentation on Wars and their impact on society earlier. It is curious how easy it is for dictators and democrats alike to start a war and continue with it for the flimsiest of reasons. They seem to be inevitable, and even glorified, to always benefit a select few in power at the cost of many others who fight, willingly or unwillingly. I am somewhat pleased that India as a modern country has gone to war only once, in 1971. Though there are all kinds of wars within, and issues that require resolution-hopefully without a war.