The Riddle of the Sphinx

“Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, 

at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, 

and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?”

When I was young I grew up in a country so beautiful, there was no place like it on the earth. It was a land as ancient as the earth... steeped in rich traditions, a culture as old as time itself. A land where all the people lived together in peace. Regardless of their ethnicity, their religion, their language or their customs, they lived as one. There was peace and tranquility and happiness throughout the land.

Then I grew older, and things had changed. But I couldn't understand how. Where was the peace of old? Why was everyone fighting? But we were one... right? Were we not all living together in peace? Where was the land of my youth? How did things change so fast?

Now I am old. I understand it all... I chose not to understand when I was young, I chose not to see. But it was there all along. It has been there all along. When I was young, I chose not to see the suffering around me ... the poverty, the violence, the injustice ... I looked away, closed my eyes and they were gone. Then as I grew older that's all I saw. I wanted to make a difference. Now I am cynical. Now I am a realist. I don't have time for fairy tales. I see things for what they are. The land of my youth existed only in my head. Created by escapism, perpetuated by false hope, the dream remains and will forever. After all, you don't have to acknowledge the problems of today, if you can live off the high of yesterday, do you? But when the smoke settles, and sanity returns you'll see things for what they are. And unfortunately, you wont have the excuse of naivete that was readily available when you were young. 

But deep down, I have this lingering feeling that things will get better, that someday, we will have peace and tranquility all around ... I can't explain this rationally. If you ask me for facts ... I have none. If you want reasons ... I have none. All I have to offer is a feeling ... whatever that may mean. Hope springs eternal...

Of Peace and Conflict

What does it take to stop the endless cycle of hate and violence?

I recently watched the Oscar-nominated documentary 'Promises', that explores the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of young children on both sides. There is no shortage of extreme views on either side, with children on both sides spouting vitriol and hate. At one point, one of the boys living in an Israeli settlement talks about the Israeli army soldiers practicing at a firing range nearby and comments that it wouldn't be too bad if they missed their targets and accidentally shot an Arab instead. At another point, one of the Palestinian children talks about his twelve year old friend being shot dead by Israeli forces during the Intifada and says that he thinks it is his duty to fight what he sees as an occupation force. But in the midst of all the hate, there are a few sane voices. As one of the children rightly points out, 'what does it mean to 'win' in the war? In the end people on both sides suffer'.

I think it says something about our society, when we allow the minds of young children to be poisoned with hate. I cannot help believing that deep down everyone desires peace. Does constantly living under the spectre of fear, anger and hate change that? Does one reach a point where there is just nothing left to lose? Is it possible to be so full of hate, so full of anger, so full of despair that no price is too high to pay?

At times I feel like a mute and dumb observer, watching the world spin violently out of control, powerless to stop the insanity. But then again, I have the luxury of being so far removed from most of these problems that I don't need to worry about them on a daily basis. There are no 'one-size-fits-all' solutions to the world's problems. Maybe all that I can do is to try to learn all sides of the story. I may not agree with everyone's point of view, but I can atleast try to understand where they are coming from.

What does it take to stop the endless cycle of hate and violence? I don't know.