Saturday 10 February 2007

Apocalypse now?

"And Caesar's spirit ranging for revenge, With Ate by his side come hot from hell, Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war; That this foul deed shall smell above the earth, With carrion men groaning for buriel."
Shakespeare from Julius Caesar.

Ask Mahathir, and he says "Melayu mudah lupa" (translation: "Malays easily forget"). Unfortunately, selective amnesia is not a trait exclusive only to the Malays.

At the cusp of this new millenium, we are witnessing again and again the wicked transgressions of men. How often have we read, heard and seen abominations occurring on a daily basis befalling other fellow human beings. I hate the fact that we have gotten so used to hearing multiple deaths in the news from faraway lands. Our senses have come near to the point of saturation - numbed - that we subconsciously stop feeling for members of our own species. Will you now tell me that the value of a person is less in subsaharan Africa when compared to a money-mover in Wall Street?

The senseless nihilism of the haves - increased suicide rates, rampant alcoholism/drugism - and the haplessness of the have-nots are but polar extremes in a world where justice is seen only to serve the chosen few.

And as I look into the eyes of my three-year old daughter, I shudder to think the sort of world that I am leaving her with.

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