Shabash Asim!

Children need to know that the world they live in did not just happen

Why have primary emotions like hate and violence become such complex problems? Is it so impossible to do a little more about increasing social injustices and moral dilemmas at a time when the human being has reached a state of soaring “sophistication”?

Today the only dream worth having is to become millionaires. But economic uncertainty increases fears and suspicion, and the thought that others have more money gives birth to widespread envy and hate. Violence threatens society.

This kind of material concern for the self has led to a certain disengagement from actual life. And none of this it seems is our fault for the culprit always is the other. All the wars that human beings are fighting with each other today are apparently not our own doing but because of god.

This idea is misleading, almost evil.

Joseph Brodsky, Nobel Prize winner from the former Soviet Union describes evil as a mirror that is a reflection of our self and the negative potential of human beings. To combat evil is to honestly examine the negative as well as the positive aspects of our nature and to teach children to do the same.

To move on in life we must not only talk of the triumphs of history but also of the failures, the tragedies and humiliation, especially to future citizens of the world. To know the damage caused by hate and suspicion in the past is precisely to better understand freedom, difference and justice.

Apart from making money our young ones have to be encouraged to look at perspectives, to think critically and to make moral decisions all the time. They need to realise that this is precisely the time to stand up for an ideal, or acts that will also improve the lot of others. For each time an individual has tried that a tiny ripple, and it does not matter how tiny, of hope is released into what may have looked like a very hopeless situation.

I recall Albert Einstein who said that the world is too dangerous to live in not because of the people who do evil but because of the people who sit and let it happen.

But the language in vogue today is that of bigotry and lessons are full of lies. Very conspicuous by its absence is talk of the ethical and moral dimensions of life. It is a lie that human beings are born free. At birth we are weak and dependent. It is only over time that a citizen is made and eventually acquires freedom.

That is why I wonder who is responsible today for talking to students about the ideals of social justice, political participation and the beauty of eternal values?

A cousin who lives in far away Canada recently introduced me to Asim Naqvi, her first born, a fine, young man who I have yet to encounter in person, by emailing to me a link to some of his thoughts.

Asim feels it is an insult to believe that we are born perfect and never make mistakes.
To ignore the past is to kill the world, one word at a time. Fear of being considered less than perfect is pervasive, he says.

“If you are trying to save the children, which is usually the argument of those who rarely listen to their children, teach them the follies of our past, do not present to them a perfect past. A perfect past is a weak foundation for anyone to build a future upon. It is a bar too high for anyone to achieve. Life will be a constant disappointment for those who believe that everything in the past was perfect, because their life most certainly is not. We are not perfect creatures, and sometimes need to make mistakes and a helping hand to build a better future.”

The thoughts of the youngster brings to mind Maya Angelou who says that history despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived but if faced with courage need not be lived again.