Names Have Changed But Things Have Remained The Same
By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
14 November 2024
Seeing the smoke of war all-around and no remarkable change in our fundamental attitude and approach towards it right from the beginning of human civilization, I'm reminded of the poet and Nobel laureate Derek Walcott's famous statement that, " The tribalism that gave rise to war in the past has given way to an internationalism that gives rise to war in the present."
Derek Walcott's quote highlights a thought-provoking paradox in our modern era. He suggests that whilst the world has progressed towards a more global and interconnected society, the divisions and conflicts inherent in tribalism have not completely dissipated.
In the past, wars were often fought due to deep-rooted loyalties and animosities between tribes or nations.
However, with the rise of globalization and increased interdependence, one might assume that such tribalistic tendencies would diminish. Yet, Walcott argues that these divisions have merely taken on a different form in the present.
Rather than being confined to individual nations or tribes, conflicts now arise from more global grievances and ideological differences. This internationalism, characterized by a clash of interests and visions for the world, has emerged as a powerful force driving contemporary conflicts.
Walcott's insight prompts reflection on the complex nature of human relations and the enduring challenges inherent in achieving lasting peace. This also indicates that our basic primitivism has remained unchanged and our so-called progress is a sham. Names have changed but things have remained the same.
What we call national pride is a modern form of tribalism.
Today's spirituality, which's a billion-dollar industry, is nothing but an improvement upon our ancient totemism and animism. Mankind is a tribe of animals, living by habits and thinking in symbols; and it can never be anything else. An Urdu poet summed it up so nicely, "Aadmi Patthar Tha Patthar Hi Raha / Pahle Tha Sang, Ab Sang-E-Marmar Bana" (Man was a stone and has always been like that / It used to be a mere stone; now it's a marble stone).
In this age of Artificial Intelligence and so much technical advancement, many of us, even the 'educated' ones, still think that a concocted god bestowed moral rules upon humans just the way god gave the Ten Commandments to Moses! That humans have developed morality over an inordinately long period of time through trial and error methods is not intelligible to these (religious) people.
The reason is obvious: Human mind has remained undeveloped or under-developed. It hasn't changed much. Had Abraham Lincoln been alive, he'd have repeated his famously funny statement, " If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
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A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/names-changed-remained-same/d/133703
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