RIFLE RANGE BOY

© 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/

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 afterli...

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 ...