Man, War and Revolutions
Man is made for war and by nature he rejects the
status quo. Often when he basks within the euphoria of peace and is unwilling
to move, the natural laws governing his nature and heart stirs up a new level
of struggle either from within or without him, such that, while existing within
this plane of consciousness, he cannot be entirely bereft of struggles ,big or
small, internal or external. It is important therefore that he masters his mind
and channels them unto that which should constitute the actual object of his
war. The whole essence of life is about engaging in fruitful wars, but often
humankind is at a loss against what and whom to direct his war cause.
This sort of struggle, when it is sudden and deep,
produces drastic changes to life and the known status quo. This occurrence,
either within a personal, national or regional entity is generally referred to
as Revolution. It may be as simplistic as an individual ordeal or as complex as
a universal event. Deep cultural changes can be brought about by such events,
which can be (but not necessarily) painful and violent. Revolutions act as
fulcrums, swinging minds unto deeper state of consciousness for an era.
The French Revolution
Perhaps no revolution has had more deeper effect,
affecting orientations, perceptions and the universal grip of humankind, as the
French Revolution which occurred between 1789 and 1798. The French Revolution
brought about epic transformations, with the abolition of aristocratic,
traditional, monarchical and religious structures paving ways for systems and
ideologies like liberality, new enlightenment, Democracy, secularism and rapid
technological advancement.
The manner of life which many take for granted
today are borne of the French Revolution, the effect of which conflicted - and
is still- conflicting with many existing cultures in different parts of the
world. For instance, an African, brought up on the historical perspective of
supremacy of kings and monarchs would be surprised that Government legislatures
presently supersedes and relegates that of monarchs.
The ultimate consequence of the French revolution
may be difficult to fault or laud in its entirety. Enabling power was
bequeathed to the masses to have greater controls over their destiny. Globalisation,
Economic liberalisation, Human rights, Industrial and IT revolutions and
technological advancement was on the rise, but it also resulted in apparent
slides towards the abolition of the spiritual and the elevation of the material
above everything, as a justification against the ‘God’ idea which many believed
was the culprit behind so many hardship and injustices, ideas that have
sustained the atheism and rapid materialism mindset that we have today.
Secularism and the Leadership Challenge
The danger of our present circumstance is that the
unity within our civilisation seem to have been built far too long on
falsehood, and freedom has been stretched beyond the Hooke's limit of
reasoning and unto a banality of existence in the name of globalisation. Morals
and ethics have been relegated behind pleasures and self-seeking grandeur which
are continually lauded as virtues, and we are all involved in these great lies,
one way or the other.
Good leadership ensures the development of an
entity governed, but when leadership gets distracted and complacent, when it
structures the system in such ways that wealth are not equitably shared, and it
continually ignores the call to thread the uncomfortable path to sustain the
future and prevent unrest; revolution then comes to the rescue of its
complacency by usurping leadership through drastic political, cultural and
societal changes from without.
The illusion of the powerful, from political,
business and spiritual, is complacency and a business-as-usual mindset. Major
city progressives leaving behind vast populace and oblivious of their plights,
thus putting to fore the possibilities of schisms amongst many respective
states today.
From the French Revolution to the Great Revolution
The elevation of Secularism during the French
Revolution did not abate the tussle between different European nations, this
reached its culmination with the European war which spread its tentacle into
becoming the Second World War between 1939 and 1945, the most grievous war yet
in the history of mankind. The United States and The Soviet Union, the two
allied champions (Or rather 3, with Great Britain) of the World War, no sooner
pitched tents against each other for an ideological struggle of supremacy
between Capitalism and Communism, either of which was bent on controlling the
rest of the world and the future of mankind. This struggle is referred to as
the Cold War.
The Cold War was ended in 1989 with the dissolution
of the Soviet Union and the demolition of the Berlin Wall, signifying a victory
for the United States, Britain and its Western allies. After Communism was
defeated in 1989, the Western world, elated with the defeat of Nazi Germany and
Soviet Communism, remained at a loss about what the next line of struggle
should be .
Then came a pry from without: Islamic
Fundamentalism shook it to the core in 2001, but the West was very reluctant to
look religion in the face. It neither would internally confront its own
misdemeanour against its Christian past nor was it externally willing to frankly
resolve the complexity of an ideological dichotomy between Islam and its
accompanying violent fundamentalism.
Then, another big pry of conscience came in 2008
with the Great Recession. Its Capitalistic venom was turned on itself with the
realisation that the evil perversion of Communism likewise finds an equal
entrenchment within Capitalism. Rather than using the occasion for deep
universal reformation, the powers that be patched things up and would rather
not look at its mess. It pumped more money into the system with the motif of
spending out of recession, and it worked- tentatively.
Our present circumstance is that which I term ‘The
Great Revolution’, a concept which I shall elaborate further.
At Present
What goes around comes around, the consequence of
not dealing properly and painfully with the issues described above resulted in
nations going rogue, a scenario currently spreading like wildfire throughout
the Western world. With the power of the ballot, the masses are bent on
confronting an ignominious Islamic fundamentalism and a corrupt Capitalism.
The worrying issue with this revolution is that the
protagonists, while responding to the petrification of Institutions and
establishments, are themselves acting out of a petrified conscience. For
instance, let us consider that a major aspect of America’s prosperity is borne
of its multiculturalism, fostered by an immigration drive unparalleled by any
nation in the world, with unparalleled freedom of rights, speech and religion,
the very salient issues against which numerous right wing voters are now
clandestinely rebelling against. A petrified heart usually is characterised by
a tendency to dismiss its pre-stardom history and to realise that life
is a given.
What the Future Holds
History is bent on repeating itself. The exact
populism that drove Hitler's agenda is what is fuelling the recent rise of
far-right personalities, parties and populace, but who is to blame? As Ola
Rotimi would say: ‘The gods are not to blame’. Life is like a Yo-yo and
it is within its flinging back and forth that positive effects are produced. Que
sera sera. Iniquity has abounded and the love of man has gone cold, but the
future is about The Great Revolution, from which our petrified hearts would be
melted and moulded -hopefully, within a relatively short time- into correcting
a heart anomaly that has taken centuries to form.
I have bad news for the proponents of ‘The good
old days’. The good old days will never return in its form. Few men there
are, for instance, who would anymore want to be bound by the slavery of an
autocratic fascist self-opinionated aristocratic leadership, secular or
spiritual. We shall be taken through fire, but its aftermath shall be a true
commonwealth civilisation and a consciousness that is far deeper and more
aligned to truth than the garbage of our present circumstances.
I write because I very much believe we are at a
turning point in history. We are within a revolution that is and would be by
far more drastic, and would produce far deeper effect on human consciousness
than the French revolution or on any human strife so far. Let us be ready for
the future, let us not forget, let us position ourselves on the right side of
history, for, life is a continuum.
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