Edify
Vilify
Educate
Vindicate
Criticize
Compromise
Classify
Castigate
Disbelieve
Duplicit
Denigrate
Deliberate
This, the
Simmer of
This, the
Summer of
Discontent
This, the
Great Divide.
April is almost upon us and with it the elections. Appallingly, everything surrounding this particular race for the ballot has been gravely disturbing to say the very least.
One thing stands out starkly not just for this election, but a singularity that seems to echo all across the world. A great chasm between one party and the next, the battle lines drawn to preposterous extremes.
Earlier there were also these, differences, of course, of opinions, of ideologies, of party systems and beliefs. And there was discourse, healthy debates, the war of words although biting and sharp in its reproach, yet never crass or insensitive or below the belt.
Today, below the belt seems to be the benchmark, the everyday and the expected, with references to various anatomies below the belt, all being passed off as banter, reducing the word to a mockery itself.
Today, in the name of standing up against a particular belief system or party ideology, we have witnessed verbal contusions and political contortions that have included bizarre and twisted dalliances making one wonder, has the world gone truly mad?
What is this strange malady that has affected us all?
Where we have become intolerant, unkind, to the point of sadistic cruelty, deaf and blind to any and all, situations and more importantly the people around us.
And so here we are. Unwilling to admit we could have been wrong, simply because it means handing over additional points to the other side. Choosing to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the atrocities committed, the deeply divisive words of hate spewed, simply because if we do so, we have conceded that we are flawed and the people, leaders whom we have chosen are flawed.
In a recent conversation that I had, I was told, that really, in the end, there was no choice and when it came to it, it was the lesser of the two evils. To that end though, there is always a choice. As for the lesser, whether we want to admit it or not, evil is evil.
And so we cling, frightfully, onto our positions, unwavering and unwilling to concede. Because if we do so, we will lose.
Lose the race, lose the ballot, lose the position, lose the power and all the trappings that come with it.
So to heck with decency and may everything else be damned. We have sold our conscience, our morals, our values. Justifying it under the garb of ‘serving the interests of the people’, to ‘saving our motherland’.
We have used fear and ignorance and apathy, indifference and laziness, to salve and soothe our collective conscience. And in so doing we have allowed bigotry and hatred and prejudice and yes, racism to fester and grow.
The stench is foul, oozing pus and blood and yet, we plod on. Staggering and lame, stinking of putrid flesh and rotting bones, we plod on.
Refusing to admit we are wrong.
Refusing to listen to the other side.
Rejecting the truth. ‘Alternative facts’ being the new term these days, whatever that means.
Repudiating the obvious even when it is being displayed in real time.
April is almost upon us. The past few days have been oppressive, the gathering winds of humidity, a stark reminder of the days that lie ahead of us. Sweaty, rank and acid. Summer in its blistering, unforgiving heat.
The heat, if I remember correctly is not good, especially for open wounds. It will breed maggots and eat away, the poison spreading through the veins. Septicaemia they call it. If left untreated, a person can die, soon, far quicker than anticipated. But curable, with the right intervention and the right amount of antibiotics and intravenous fluids.
There is still time. Listen, even if it hurts. Even if it doesn’t make sense. Listen. Feel. Assess. Let the right fluids course through you. Decide and act. It is not too late.
Ballot –
Deceive –
Ballot –
Believe?
Summer –
Simmer –
Discontent?
Decide!
For me summer will always be the blue skies of home. The kind of blue that leaves your heart a little breathless. Blue skies and the green junipers and the faces of the ones I love. The warm sun and the cool breeze. Warm, fragrant tea and piro (spicy) aloo dum. Star spangled skies and purple sunsets. And no matter the heat, I will always have a piece of home with me.
What do you want your summer, simmer to be?
Decide.
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