The Battle Is Now Joined
By Averthanus L. D’Souza

NEW DELHI, June 19, 2009, 14.00 Hrs (Averthanus L. D’Souza):

Viewing the current geo-political developments from an aeonic perspective one is intrigued to discover that man’s violent attempts to subdue other men and his constant ‘wars’ with his neighbours has undergone an evolutionary development parallel to his biological evolution. One could write an entire book on this subject; but let us look at the broad outlines. In very primitive societies, almost at the dawn of human history, men waged wars over territorial rights – rights to gather fruits or to hunt animals for food. Later, the wars were over land to cultivate food grains or to graze animals. Vestiges of these conflicts are still visible in the attempts of tribals to gather the fruits of the forest and the leaves of forest trees for fuel.

Since the advent of industrialization and the discovery of the power of steam to drive machines, the fights were for fossil fuels such as coal and oil to run industrial machinery. These conflicts for mineral resources were at the root of several recent wars, including the Great War of 1914 – 18, and the attempt to grab the rich coal mines of the Ruhr areas in Germany. The more recent wars were (and are being) fought over the ownership of the rich oil reserves in the Middle East. Except for the politicians (who claim to be promoting freedom), everyone else knows that the real reasons for these recent wars is to control the oil reserves.

Intriguingly, however, the recent wars did not have a purely economic reason. The Second World War was fought because of ideological reasons. The clash was between the understanding that all men have equal rights and that no State or Nation can be based on claims to racial or cultural superiority. Apart from the outlandish claims of Nazi Germany we have witnessed the conflict in South Africa and even in the United States of America which were based on the understanding that the white races were ‘superior’ to the ‘coloured’ races. Apartheid in South Africa was the institutionalization of the belief that the ‘black’ people were inferior to the whites. It was the same (mis)understanding which underlay the racial segregation in most of the southern United States. In fact, the U.S.A. was on the verge of splitting up into two Nations. The Civil War was the crucible in which these false understandings were resolved. The institution of slavery is too recent in human memory not to arouse emotional feelings. This is why, not only the United States of America, but the entire world rejoices in the election of a ‘black’ American to the highest political office of President of the U.S.A. This heralds the end of an era in human history which was distinguished by the conflict between races (at least in the United States). Of course, like all other human progress, the process has been slow but clearly evident: two very distinguished Secretaries of State (Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice), a very distinguished Justice of the Supreme Court of the U.S.A. , and now, a President. The U.S.A. has taken the great leap forward to demonstrate the eternal validity of the Principles on which the country was founded, viz. that all men are created equal, and that they have been endowed by the Creator with inalienable rights, among which are the rights to life, to liberty and to the pursuit of happiness. Racism and cultural chauvinism have been definitely shown to be anachronistic and inconsistent with the new realities of the twenty-first century.

It is intriguing, however, to discover that the ‘casus belli’ in human history has gradually evolved from purely economic reasons, through ideological differences to current ethical reasons for tension and even physical conflict between peoples. The reasons for modern-day conflict are not purely economic (although one can discern the economic elements in them); neither are they purely ideological (although we can still discern vestiges of the discredited ideologies of the last century). The reason for present tensions has moved upward to differences of culture and ethics. Concurrently, the arenas of conflict have shifted from geographical areas to an indefinite space which envelops all humankind, irrespective of country, continent, language, or ethnic origin. War is no more defined by antagonism between countries, or even by antagonism between ‘civilizations.’ The very interesting study made by Professor Samuel P. Huntington of Harvard University has been misinterpreted, mauled and vandalized by people who have not the slightest idea of what he was talking about. His book: “The Clash of Civilizations and the remaking of World Order” deserves to be studied with respect instead of being bandied about as proof that a “clash” is inevitable between the “civilizations” of the West and of the East – or Middle East.

At the bottom of the present conflicts afflicting the world is a challenge for all of humankind to re-examine our basic tenets and to discover whether these are aligned with the new realities which have been created by industrial and post-industrial technological societies, and to re-examine the impact which the communications revolution has had on our traditional practices and institutions. The entire world is undergoing another fundamental churning which will make our traditional institutions obsolete and anachronistic – our economic systems, our political institutions, our cultural practices. Underlying the apparently differentiating elements is the discovery of our common humanity. People are becoming aware that there is more that unites us than what divides us. This awareness was emphatically proclaimed during the American Civil Rights Movement: “There is only one race – the human race !”

More than anything else, what is clearly discernable is that the dialogue has shifted from the purely economic and the geopolitical to the cultural level. The present conflict is not one between “Western Civilization” versus Nazism or Communism; rather it is a ‘war’ between spiritual values and a godless secularism. One manifestation of this is the emergence of what has been described as ‘terrorism’. This description is both inaccurate as well as unfortunate. ‘Terrorism’ is not confined to one geographical area or to one religion. Moreover, terrorism cannot be fought with the conventional instruments of armies, with their guns, grenades and long range missiles. Terrorism originates in the minds and hearts of men – not in the caves or mountains of Afghanistan or Pakistan. It is only in the minds and hearts of men that terrorism can be eliminated. Even President Barack Obama in his speech at the University of Cairo in Egypt declared that the present day problems are not amenable to military solutions. Bombs and nuclear weapons cannot be effective against hatred and mistrust. The conflict has shifted to a completely new level – of intellectual understanding and emotional sympathy. What we are witnessing today is not a conflict between people, but a conflict of ideas.

We have reached a point in our evolution (or development) at which the most fundamental human values are struggling to be acknowledged: the Right to Life; the Right to Equality under the Law; the Right to Equal Opportunities etc. What is very unfortunate, however, is that even in the citadel of democracy – the U.S.A., these rights are being battered. The biggest scandal of our times is the fact that while America is intervening in the development of other countries in the name of safeguarding human rights, in the homeland itself these rights are being brutally violated. The Obama administration has already become notorious for its pro-abortion policies. The story is both sordid and depraved. The government not only ‘tolerates’ abortion; it actually promotes it – not only in the U.S.A. itself, but all over the world. The Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is on record saying that the promotion of abortions all over the world is an integral part of the American foreign policy ! Such a policy is quite obviously in conflict with the basic tenet of American democracy which was built on the principle that the Right to Life (even of unborn babies) is an inalienable rights bestowed on each individual human by his Creator. No government or individual has the right to take away this Right. It is estimated that in the U.S.A. alone, more than 1.3 million babies are slaughtered annually in their mother’s wombs – while the American media provides the world with statistics of a few thousand soldiers who die in the war which America has imposed in many parts of the world. Only the totally blind will fail to see that there is no difference, whatsoever, between killing adults in wars (or terrorist attacks) and the killing of babies in their mothers’ wombs. Human life is sacred irrespective of the colour of the skin, the racial antecedent or the country of origin. It is time that the whole of Humankind wakes up to this fundamental truth and actively promotes the Right to Life of all humans on this planet.

Averthanus L. D’Souza