Hope drives the whole world. In fact, it is the very basis of life. A hopeless man is a dead man.
Recently, hope has manifested amongst our midst in an interesting way. A new country was born on 9 July 2011. Indeed, before seeing the dawn of its life, South Sudan has been through a lot of hardships. Civil wars have ravaged it and poverty has beaten it. Yet, the very idea of becoming an independent nation is far too enticing to neglect.
And rightly so, the concept of a dependent nation is a compromise. Laws set by some stranger will never be able to appeal to the local citizens. Why should someone else rule me? Local money being siphoned off to meet the costs of some distant land will never be tolerated. Why should my money go to pay bills of someone else? After all, everyone deserves to be living in a state where his rights are properly respected and there is a chance for everyone to flourish in an organic fashion. All this is possible only when we have our own people in power. An independent state seems to be the only solution to modern day social problems.
Countries have broken away from bigger ones. Within countries, states have broken away from bigger ones. How many problems have we solved this way?
Come to think of it. We do not want to or rather, not like to face reality. The reality is that this approach has not helped in the past and neither is it helping in the present. It presents itself only as an attractive bride promising a lot but only in the future.
Some time back, on December 25, 1991 a whole band of independent nations was born from the erstwhile USSR. Seen as the harbinger of prosperity and equality of wealth, many a people extolled the fall of communism in its own motherland. However the present speaks a different story. The rise of crime in Russia has seen unprecedented heights. This also includes white-collar crime. Other social factors also indicate a not-so-pleasant picture of the state of affairs there.
Yugoslavia broke up in 1992. Czechoslovakia broke up into two countries in 1993. Similar stories are reflected here too. We have not mentioned Bosnia and Herzegovina.
What went wrong? Maybe they discounted the simple fact that it was never people who ruled the country, it was always greed represented by the people. Maybe they forgot a simple saying—“Power corrupts.” When someone else rules you, power corrupts that person and when your own people rule you, the same power corrupts this person too. Is it really that difficult to get over powered by this base instinct?
When we want a change, why do we always aim for the superficial? Why do not we go deeper? What about instituting a program for the spiritual upliftment of those in power? Why is there no recognition of this simple fact that unless we purify ourselves we stand to be corrupted by power and all that follows it? Honestly, the kind of efforts that we spend in changing power from one set of hands to another could be used in much lesser proportions to purify those whom we expect to rule us.
Without this kind of a program, it all seems so much meaningless.
The total number of countries on this planet post-South Sudan is 193. I am ready with my counter.
