In this world of ours and in this life of ours we encounter conflict; there is always the question of me and the other, us Vs them. Why does this scenario arise. Let me be brutally frank- it is because humans as a species and race are selfish. And selfish to the core. There is always the question of 'me' in the picture. Indeed sometimes we are godlike and we become more than angels and we indeed sacrifice our self interest. But, at the core we are self- seeking. That is why, I believe we should accept this basic truth and take it from there. Indeed one may not agree with what I just stated, however, the debate can take place in forums. Take it from there, I have stated. What do I mean you might ask? Well I mean we can go about our human business from there, I mean to say.
Let us take it from the microcosm. At the outset, everyone is concerned about one's own self. In that condition the one next to us is the adversary. May the one next to us be our friend or blood brother or sister. Then from the context of the family, the neighbour becomes the adversary. Then in the context of the locality the other locality becomes the other. Then in the context of the city, the other city, and so on and so forth.
Therefore, in my analysis the only formula for the human race to unite as one is to find a common adversary. And for that we have only to give a cursory glance to our daily papers. Desease is our enemy, hunger is our enemy, poverty is our enemy, and the list goes on.
Indeed we have to be practical in our fight against common enemies. Until aliens attack. If indeed, there are aliens! We will have to make do with fighting our biggest common enemy- our selfishness. Just an aside- I wonder why alien sightings are mostly, if not all, in the good old U S of A? But that is for another discussion.
We must realise that it is in our own selfish self interest to beat our selfishness. For, at the end of the day, we sink or swim, but together, for we are together!
Edward Lotha
Advocate
