The Elusive Utopia

© Borderless Journal

When I was growing up, the radio was the musical score constantly playing in the background. Blaring between Tamil movie songs and radio dramas were news of the hour and current issue discussions. The things that got imprinted on my impressionable mind as I was transforming from a teenager to a young adult were about violence, wars and bombings. I remember about the war in Vietnam as it was close to home. For every peace talk and the end of war announcement, there would pop up another bombing and a barrage of casualties. My simple mind wondered when the war would end, but it never did. It went on for so long that they had a Tamil film in 1970 named Vietnam Veedu (House of Vietnam), referring to a household forever in family feuds and turmoil....

https://borderlessjournal.com/2024/03/14/the-elusive-utopia/

One World, One Love, One Vision?

Dedicated to a follower, HS, who enjoyed the post on Lotus and asked whether a 'one world' can ever exist where we do things for the greater good of mankind and where the need of the collective supersedes that of an individual.

We are told that race is healthy. The human race is moving forward from cave-dwelling nomads to space-exploring nations by this very trait, the race to be better than the other.

Nature is hostile. It does not care two hoots for the weak and the slow. It shows its mighty fury to those who cross its path. Only the fittest survive. Biology transmits this survival trait to the next generation so that the memory of how to thwart that adversity is implanted in their DNA.
But we are told we have six senses, unlike members of the animal kingdom. We have developed empathy and compassion for the weak and the downtrodden. Still, the only thing keeping us from killing each other is the law, fear of retribution for our actions in this life, the next, or the afterlife if rebirth is not on the menu. Communal living with rules ensured that even the weaker of its people would be taken care of, barring which nothing is going to stop from punching another blue-black or kicking away the walking stick of the invalid and laughing his eyes out. Lurking deep in the crevices of the grey matter is the dormant reptilian brain, which is triggered whenever the gatekeepers take a break. The desire to dominate is there. The carefree attitude of surrounding to the pleasures of the physical body can easily be bargained for.

The world has all the resources to meet human needs, but not its greed. The idea of universal equality is only a utopian dream which is as common as a flying pink elephant. When we are poor, we demand equality, fair play and a level playing field. The idea of socialism and communism fascinates us. As we climb the ladder of prosperity, our desire never to part with our hard-earned money declines exponentially. We realise that our wealth is worth every drop of sweat that comes through our pores. Parting was not just sentimental but unnecessary as we reminisced the hungry nights we endured in pursuit of prosperity. We tell ourselves life is very fickle and we must prepare for a rainy day. Some call it greed; others call it wise planning. Empathy knocks in a different form. We do not want our offspring to endure the hardship we had to experience. Also, leaving a legacy behind is nice! We are often told the need for one is only as important as the collective! It has been ingrained in us the idea that Lady Justice is blind to external interferences. She only metes justice as it is, irrespective of the offender's status, race, creed and intellectual prowess. What we are not told is justice is all about how deep-pocketed the suspect is. If favourable sentences are not obtained, one can go on and on higher on the levels of courts available in the legal system. Justice can be bought with all the money one can pay. For political offences, as judges have political affiliations, one wonders how impartial they are.

Even the treatment of various accused is glaringly different. A leader who foolishly (or wilfully) siphoned off the nation's coffers saunters to the court with his flashy designer suits, whereas a couple of mischievous motorcyclists who decided to film their dangerous motorcycle stunts get dragged to the courts in orange police-lockup overalls handcuffed under the flashes journalists' flash camera. And do not get me started on selective prosecution of political and even civil cases by the Attorney General Chambers. Those who followed the path of communism/socialism soon realised the longer it stayed in power, the more it looked like the systems it wanted to eradicate. It believed it wanted to replace the hegemony of Romanov over the peasant land. Fast forward, we see Russia being run by oligarchs. The short-lived satiety came to be replaced with hyperinflation and Kafkaian governmental squeeze. The distribution of wealth has a funny way of redistribution even if all the world's wealth is divided equally amongst its population. Experiences from COVID-19, slum population and national calamity are testimony to this.

All the things that we wanted the world to be - One World, One Vision, One Way of Thinking- are just piped dreams. Listening to Oprah and her talk show, we thought we could change the world with a rational Western way of thinking. Bob Marley tried to change the world with 'One Love' and his message to get together and feel alright. And Beatles with 'All You Need is Love'. Then we grew up. We realise that the economy has to trickle down. We cannot expect society to benefit solely from a 'trickle-up' economy. The world is chaotic; it will always be, and within that churning sea of chaos, there will be a constant flow that moves things forward. The little eddy currents happen, but the essential thing is the forward propulsion of the human race. Along the way, there are bound to be casualties of civilisations and people not acclimatised to change.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

In search of...Utopian society?

Animal Farm (1954 animated film)
Based on George Orwell's 1945 book


Human beings are forever trying to evolve and trying very hard to device a full proof system that tries to be fair to most, if not everyone. Unfortunately, every conceivable system seem to have failed them miserably. We are still in search of an utopian society and land of milk and honey but dystopia is what we have. Monarchy, feudalism, communism, socialism and capitalism have breed nothing but loop holes for man to fulfil their greed.
The present system appears to glorify greed and ruthless suppression of the underprivileged. Paradoxically, this is system that people of the communist block, who were suffering under the former suppressive regimes, opted for.
Every new system, at first, looks all rosy with its pledges and just core values. In time many of its shortcomings come affront and the goal post is shifted to satisfy the masses.
An initially successful system, over time would turn corrupt. The regime in power would try all means to justify their power to lead.

Orwell's post WW2 satire of Russian's autocratic system of hoodwinking the masses into believing that they are getting a good deal met many resistance before publication as Soviet Union was an important ally to the Western world. Its message, however, stays true even to today. What goes on in this fictitious farm is reminiscent of what goes on in many countries, communist, capitalistic or autocratic.

Manor Farm had seen better times, all because of its drunkard owner's inactivities. The animals in the farm, led by a pig, Old Major, starts a revolt. They successfully drove the owner out and took charge of the running of the farm. They changed its name to Animal Farm and devices a new set of rules for everyone to follow. With everybody's hard work, especially, the horse (Boxer) and the donkey (Benjamin), there is a system in the farm and yields improve. The leaders, the pigs, try to educate the animals. After the demise of Old Major, there is a power struggle between Snowball and Napoleon (both pigs). Snowball is actually sincere with progress. He proposes the erection of a windmill.Over time, the pigs become the ruling class with special privileges. Napoleon, training his dogs, takes over the realm of leadership.
The initial 7 Commandments change over time. The workers' class feel shortchanged. They work relentlessly whilst the rulers living decadent and leisurely lives. The pigs, too, act more human like. They walk upright and indulge in alcohol bought in exchange for the produce from the farm.
In spite of their poor living conditions, Napoleon, their de-facto leader is feted for being a competent leader.
The animals, upon realising that the pigs were actually worse of then their human owners stage another revolution!
Interestingly, this is Britain's first theatrical animation film. It was financed by the CIA to counter the effect of communist influence in Continental Europe. The financiers took the liberty to modify the ending to suit the sensitivity of the times.