Are the 21st century leaders different than the 20th century egoistic monsters who perpetuated the Two WW? Robert Briffault (The Making of Humanity, Cambridge University, 1920), an earlier 20th century scholar offered the following observation: “The men who have most injured and oppressed humanity, who have most deeply sinned against it, were according to their standards and their conscience, good men; what was bad in them, what wrought moral evil and cruelty, treason to truth and progress, was not at all their intentions, in their purpose, in their personal character, but in their opinions.”
Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.
Global Leaders of Animosities and Indifference
Despite insane killings and devastations of the Two WW, unwarranted wars continued to rage at our doorstep and our consciousness of its gravity is hardly visualized by the global leaders. The global leaders claim to be possessing greatness of mind, have failed miserably to stop the ongoing slaughter of humanity in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq and equally vulnerable indigenous population of North America. ‘The Stolen Continent’ in an epoch revelation tells how the European settlers exterminated the native –indigenous people, their cultures, their rights and existence – a planned genocide of historic proportion. The emerging conflict between Russia and Ukraine involve contentious issues of geography, history and ethnic animosities. In 2014, none of the Western leaders paid any immediate attention when Russia and Ukraine (the former colonial entity of the USSR) got broiled in issues across Eastern Ukraine between pro- Russian and pro-Ukrainian masses. If America, the EU and Russia were enlightened enough, they should have engaged in dialogue to defuse the growing public discontent and division of ethnicity and geography. The Minsk agreement was misinterpreted and ignored by the parties. NATO and its participation are fast becoming contentious issues of peace and security between the Russian Federation and the West. People of knowledge and wisdom cannot make animosity as a trade to endanger the future. War is simply a disingenuous act of human mind.
Any war will attract superpowers to accelerate the production of Weapons of Mass Destruction and consequently with Ukraine war weapons sales are up; oil and gas supplies getting scared and prices rocketing high, plagued with extravagant ideals to victimize the mankind- the making of a global cataclysm without any choice to the masses. The epic centers of gravity are irresponsible leaders and madness of nationalistic ideals – a hybrid culture, part human and part beast. Most contemporary leaders appear swollen with pride in their egoistic ambitions and claims and counter-claims and often become victims of their own crass materialism, poor judgments, violence and naïve foresight of sustainable future. We, the People witness a present devoid of reason and rationality often fearing the coming of a mythological ending of a completely decadent human civilization. What a tragic imagination
to witness the ending of TIME (whatever you imagine of its moving pulse) and age of informed and knowledge-based 21st century so- called matured and advanced civilizations. As humans, if we cannot co-exist peacefully, what was the intent and purpose of space exploration, advanced science and technology when human minds are left without any rational THINKING for peace and security? To this author, a cataclysmic nature of human intellect is unleashing a highly irrational and unthinkable world of complexity to come to our consciousness destroying all progress and achievements of any human civilization could possibly claim its merits. Most human intellect knows the basic imperative: “if you THINK intelligently, you could find workable remedies to human problems.” What if President Putin, Zelenskyy, President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Scholz, President Macron, PM Johnson and the UN Secretary General would meet face to face – without agreeing or disagreeing and simply listen and learn to each other’s challenging view points and draw workable strategies to narrow the differences and extend hope for peace to the beleaguered mankind. What is wrong with that approach? Effective leaders are always open to listening and learning and adaptability towards making a sustainable future. Are the contemporary leaders accountable to their own people and the beleaguered global humanity?
World Leaders Lack “Trust” and Fear Vulnerability of Political Change
The growing suspicions of mutual destruction between Russia, NATO and the EU getting out of order with Sweden and Finland intended to apply for membership to NATO. Ukraine is not an applicant yet. The obvious conclusions assumed by naked eyes do not seem to encourage any credible possibilities of our viable common future as civilized human beings. With the on-going- global conflicts and threats of retaliatory nuclear arsenals so conveniently implied by warring parties on both sides to win the battlegrounds do not signal the end of planet Earth but certainly could predict the end of human civilizations. We, the People must not repeat the primitive magic of obsolete human cultures but how best We, the People of Conscience could think intelligently to avert the coming of catastrophic man-made disasters to end our existence.
Emerging conflicts in Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Kashmir, Palestine and other parts of the globe are the outcomes of consequential military invasions and aggression that kill people and destroy the Earth. History illustrates when a nation or its leaders challenge the limits of the Laws of God and approach to the near end of their lifespan, insanity takes-over common sense and they tend to ignore warnings and reject all voices of reason.
Leaders are violating the TRUST of keeping the planet’s safety to its Nature of Things. The planet Earth is not a dead orbiting object but a living entity providing continuous nourishment to human life and existence to all other living beings. Its governing laws are defined by its Creator. Dead things do not sustain life in this context but livings do make the difference. When individuals and nations start acting like wild beasts in complete disregard to the accepted norms of human values and ethical principles, surely, it impacts all and everything whether we
acknowledge it or not. No humans can become God or act like God – a plain fact of life. We, the People are witnessing many leaders acting like beasts without any regard to protect human cultures, life and civilizations. When people and nations challenge the sanctity and limits of the Laws of God and violate all known norms and principles of human behavior, they could well become an object of unthinkable natural calamities, deaths and destruction.
How to Make a Navigational Change for Global Peace and Conflict Resolution?
The need is urgent for the Western leaders (America, NATO and the EU) and the UNO Security Council to explore means of peaceful dialogue and persuasive communication with President Putin (Russia) to stop the war in Ukraine and come face to face contact between the belligerent parties and leaders. If such a momentum is not evolved and opportunities for peace are lost, our common future would entail unthinkable socio-economic, strategic and political problems to deal with amicably. So far, all are talking in air but not coming to any rational setting to sort out the complex problems of peace and security. How could We, the People of the 21st century be more enlightened in an age of information and knowledge-driven global culture of creativity, effective leadership and human progress? The hard facts of life speak for themselves. We must evolve and create new people of proactive vision and responsible leadership role-paly to reject greed, hostilities of geography and history and animosities of the past and start a new age of reason, mutual co-existence, peace and security for all on this Earth.
Nick Bostrom, Professor at Oxford University “The Future of Humanity” (Future of Humanity Institute, Faculty of Philosophy & James Martin 21st Century School) outlines realistic perspectives for a sustainable future: We need realistic pictures of what the future might bring in order to make sound decisions……….The greatest extinction risks (and existential risks more generally) arise from human activity. Our species has survived volcanic eruptions, meteoric impacts, and other natural hazards for tens of thousands of years. It seems unlikely that any of these old risks should exterminate us in the near future. By contrast, human civilization is introducing many novel phenomena into the world, ranging from nuclear weapons to designer pathogens to high-energy particle colliders. The most severe existential risks of this century derive from expected technological developments. Advances in biotechnology might make it possible to design new viruses that combine the easy contagion and mutability of the influenza virus with the lethality of HIV. Molecular nanotechnology might make it possible to create weapons systems with a destructive power dwarfing that of both thermonuclear bombs and biowarfare agents….
Global Humanity and its Future are More Important than Military Conquests
Sanctity of human life is grounded in realization of peace, dialogue and co-existence. A rational analytic approach would compare things to figure out the difference between truth and falsehood, cruelty and piety often not combined in one character. After three months of warmongering, Russia and Ukraine are active, living and not destroyed. The on-going onslaught makes no sense to rational thinking and political accountability. American, European and NATO leaders appear more like spectators rather than active participants to conflict resolution and peace-making. They are not posing any challenge to the absurdity of one-sided war in Ukraine. Their lip service to aid Ukraine and its people is mere a repetitive cry for public consumption.
If time and history are a reference point, we the humankind stand at a critical juncture of our own complacency to have allowed ignorance, hatred, fear and animosity to destroy our life,
culture and existence. We are witnessing a growing culture of domination by the same as was in history- universally the self-centered maniacs claiming to be leaders of peace and mankind, all causing massive deaths and destruction to endanger life, human habitats and the sanctity of Planet Earth. The NEED is urgent to understand – how to change the egoistic and embittered insanity of the few hate-mongers and warlords into equilibrium of balanced relationship between Man, Life and God- given living Universe in which we all co-exist harmoniously.
Modern wars represent sadistic and cruel minds to undermine human rights, dignity and life. They destroy all that is built over the ages that we call human civilizations. All of the Monolithic Religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) reveal the truth of “Trust” – human beings took to be responsible and be at peace with the Nature of Things – the living Planet Earth. Any favorite perversion would contradict this Trust and embark on killing and destruction of human habitats as history has witnessed during the Two WW, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and now in Ukraine. This TRUST and its reminder are explicitly mentioned in (The Qur’an, Chapter 33: 72):
“We did indeed offer the Trust to the Heavens and the Earth; And the mountains but they refused; To undertake it, being afraid thereof: But man undertook it; He was indeed unjust and foolish.”
The perpetuated chaos and nationalistic ideals of the few are leading to collapsed civilizations and resumption of dark ages. Could wars be ever the source of conflict resolution or peacemaking? No matter how time exists in a frozen intellect, Reason will haunt the present and future generations if war was a prelude to peace-making. Is Ukraine a test ground for any futuristic planning and administration of more insane conflicts? It is not the time to claim crimes against humanity or counter claims of denials, the need of time is urgent for the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to meet face to face and stop the insanity against the people they claim to serve. Ten millions Ukrainian refugees displaced by force need urgent help. Those pushing the mankind to war and destruction lack the basic qualities of rational thinking and actions.
Can we THINK to be human in all of our moral, political and intellectual endeavors?
Can we critically look at ourselves – why have we become so stagnated in moral, spiritual and intellectual values to be on a cliff to destroy the cause of freedom, equality and justice for all? Can we see the mirror with a collective conscience and realize as if there were no people of REASON and accountability populating the Planet Earth? Karl Hillebrand (“German Thought, From The Seven Years’ War To Goethe’s Death” : Six Lectures (1880) p. 207), a 19th century German philosopher and author said it right:
“Men will not understand … that when they fulfil their duties to men, they fulfil thereby God’s commandments; that they are consequently always in the service of God, as long as their actions are moral, and that it is absolutely impossible to serve God otherwise.”
Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 12/201