- Written by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.
“And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
(Howard Zinn, late American historian and distinguished scholar of peace, justice and humanity).
Leaders Speak Words Written by Specialists But See No Irony in their own Actions
The UNO was evolved to act as a tangible force for change and future-making to ensure the systematic safeguard of humanity from the “scourge of wars”, global peace, human security and a sustainable future for all on this planet. Not so, you watched the leaders speaking at the UN General Assembly podium uttering third-party written words of wisdom and forbearance with overweening pride and prejudice in their own agenda. More often when they claim to honor and achievements, they dip into crass materialism, ignorance, violations of basic human rights, disregard of peace and security of mankind, inherent economic greed and perpetuated violence against the vulnerable and innocent habitants of this earth.
Our contemporary acclaimed political morality if there is any to a critical perceptive eye leans toward degeneration of humanity and leadership claims and counterclaims sound irrational and deceptive in pursuit of unbridled egoism and political power to deny reason and logic for the transformation of much-needed change and a peaceful future. We, the People of the globe must realize the truth and urgency at a challenging time of transformation and our sensual abilities for survival under circumstances of extreme geopolitical problems – continuous wars, COVID -19 Pandemic, climate change and violations of human rights, and dangers of insane cruelty in policies and practices to endanger our own future on this planet. The global institutions do not operate on human morality and intellect. The disclosure of ‘Pandora Papers’ reflects that reality.
The current global systems of political governance and leadership are overwhelmingly elite-class oriented and all global institutions are operated by pre-screened elite leaders who are disconnected to any relationship to ‘the people, by the people and for the people’ norm. In a rational sense, We, the People of the Planet have become lifeless digits, numbers and seamless legal entities to be used when needed at the ballot box and nothing else. What has changed from the authoritarianism of Hitler, Mussolini, and the European engineered Two WW killing millions and millions for their own ideas and ideas of political governance? One wonders, if the advanced and secretive space weapons will be the “Weapons of Mass Destruction” in a next overdue war, or would it be the much-possessed nuclear arsenals to extinguish life from this Planet? It appears contentious to predict scientifically and technologically based criterion to illustrate a logical definition of the end game between the conventional age of life and the beginning of unknown new age of something beyond human imagination and history.
Contemporary Global Affairs under Rational Lens and Beyond
Looking at the contemporary world of acclaimed democracies, peace, and national security of the states, almost everywhere frustration, cynicism, and political endemic persist across the board. Political reasoning enforced by unilateral elite judgments view humanity just in a passing phrase for noble ideals of democracy and systems of governance devoid of legitimacy and public interest. Global leaders speak loud as actors at the UNO General Assembly but lack knowledge and wisdom to understand the pains and anguish of the victimized humanity. George Floyd continues to echo his voice across the US mainstream political activism: “I cannot breathe… I cannot breathe.” George Floyd is not dead; he is living in the living conscience and soul of the masses all over the world. You know that “Black Life Matters” is not a political slogan but a reality and demand of human conscience all over the planet.
Imagine, how 10 million people of Kashmir must be breathing under brutal Indian military occupation of the valley. Kashmiris are denied the UN sanctioned right of self-determination and the international community ignores their desperate voices for freedom because of India’s continuous lockdowns under the guise of security and bogus terrorism. Pakistani corrupt neo-colonial leaders lacking moral and intellectual capacity failed to challenge the Hindutva extremism or to plan international conferences on Kashmir and representation at global forums. Syria, Yemen, and Iraq are bombed and masses are crushed every day – what happened to the UNO Peace and Conflict Management responsibility? The new Arab Pharaohs kept in bondage by the American-European alliances offer no hope of freedom and peace to the masses. Palestinians are flogged mentally and physically by Israeli security strategies to disrupt their freedom and national identity. They are without any proactive or intelligent leadership to escape out of the box of inhumanity. Almost one million Rohinga refugees ask patiently why they were evicted forcibly from their homes in Myanmar. Do the world leaders care about real human suffering?
It is awful and a tragedy of conscience to be speaking of politics when mankind urgently needs an effective cure for the Covid-19 pandemic. We are One Humanity – natural disasters and fatalities know not any borders, flags and nationalities but surge like wildfire as being witnessed in the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. Not so, Americans and the EU still buried in the past would not consider the Russian Covid-19 vaccine already prepared and administered or the Chinese vaccine because they are manufactured by the politically opposing sides. Again political absolutism heightens animosity and hatred rather than human understanding and cooperation for a precious cause of saving the lives on Earth. To save life of one human being is to safeguard the whole of humanity. We are all born equal One Humanity:- the Divine Message of Al-Qur’an clarifies the truth:
“Proclaim in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created, Created man (human being) out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood, Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the Pen, Taught man (human being) that which he knew not.”
Leaders at the annual UN Assembly compete for fame and honor but share no creative or practical ideas and workable ideals to protect the rights of humanity. Are we living and witnessing another world of global redundancy and foolishness where survival of the fittest is granted but masses are denied the reasoned and legitimate proposition of a sustainable future? Were these not the historic factors leading to the Two World Wars?
Are We Witnessing a Decadent Culture of Human Morality and Intelligence?
We, the People, must be conscientious and attentive to a moral and intellectual compass of global political governance. We are moral human beings- a Creation of God created for a purpose in human life, enriched with intellect and wisdom much different than other animals moving on this earth. Our life, our rights, our dignity, our peace and security, our planet and our future cannot be traded-in at the UNO Forum. It is obvious that facts and truths vary in time and space, human destiny and casualty but human consciousness is waking up to the challenges of the 21st century defining the world of destiny and pulsation and the world of global conflicts and tensions- the world as we see its history linking us all into the nature of things of which we are an essential part; We, the People at the Heart of the God-given Universe, must seek our unity in changing fortunes of time and space or we could be destroyed by our obsessed ignorance and arrogance governing the global politics and human affairs. Leaders failed to lead us to any viable destiny for future-making. We must use an inward moral, intellectual and spiritual eye as being the Chief Creation of God to articulate a new culture of human communication to resolve problems across all the people and lands and to accord equal rights, peace, and security to all, not the few arbitrarily conducting the UNO speaking forums.
Recall during the Two World Wars across Europe, millions and millions of innocent civilians had perished in aerial bombings, political tyranny, and forcible displacements. History is living not dead. We the 21st century conscientious and informed citizens must realize to eliminate insanity, the tyranny of destruction, violations of human rights, ethnic conflicts, and religious bigotry. Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad preached the unity of mankind, respect, and tolerance in adversity. None of the Messengers of God taught evil, intolerance, and disrespect against the people. If we are witnessing it in the 21st century liberal democracies and immature leadership, it cannot flatten the moral, intellectual and political landscape as “No Man’s land” of any superpowers or elsewhere. Violence, killings, and maltreatment of the citizens cannot be transformed into the virtue of democracy or clash of fanaticism disguised in any political ideals of the individuals, political agendas, or so-called leaders.
Late Professor Howard Zinn envisaged the future of mankind in the following words of wisdom:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.”
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, 12/2019.