What a Year It Was
Salutations to the Supreme Goddess, Shri Adishakti.
Last week, I woke up in the morning, as usual meditated, ate breakfast, and checked the news. That was when this thought came into my mind. That I was looking at the parting gift of last year. To be honest, what I am about to present here has been going in my mind for a while; still, I had no plans to share it with anyone.
But the Capitol riots last week made me change my mind.
Credit must be given where it’s due.
People are quick to criticize last year thanks to all the events which unfolded. I mean, they came up with all sorts of names and explanations. I had recently moved to Toronto, Canada, and the pandemic hit after a month or so. I remember going downtown near the Chinese new year’s celebration and seeing the preparation for the festival.
“Let’s Welcome the year of Rat!” was written in one of the posters inviting people to join the celebrations.
That was a peculiar thing for me, and as the events of the year unfolded, it became more and more evident. But before that, let me explain why it was so. I practice a form of meditation called Sahaja yoga, and we try to imbibe the essence of religions around the world. One of the central deities in Hinduism is Lord Ganesha. He is the deity who is worshipped before every auspicious procession and who destroys all the negativities. His ‘vahana’ or ride, you can call, is ‘mooshakraj’, a mouse. He goes around places and tells Lord Ganesha what wrong is going on. And Lord Ganesha proceeds to expose and end the wrongdoings.
This is what made this really interesting for me. Everything that happened last year made this line resound in my ears. Every time. In essence, we were made to look at few major issues going on with the help of few instruments.
“Stop running and see what’s going around you!!!”
That seemed to be the message of last year.
And what we saw were at least four clear issues.
Environment, Plastic, China (or rather, CCP), and the US.
Let’s start with the environment first. People have been crying about pollution, global warming, and meltdown for a long time now. But then we had smart politicians. And we had more smart corporations who made sure that those people and their talk doesn’t bother us. I won’t delve into details since that has been covered extensively by media outlets last year, and not just due to the scarcity of interesting chit chat to write about. But even before last year, we saw Australian wildfires rampaging the country. Then came the Brazilian forest fires. Then the effects of global warming in different forms ranging from failing to meet the climate targets to the target simply aren’t enough. Then Death Valley became the breaking news. Siberian warm waters and delayed ice forming topped the climate section.
And we might as well cover the plastic as that is closely related.
The “let’s recycle plastic hoax” bubble burst. Marine plastic pollution was exposed. The grave extent to which plastic has entered the ecosystem and food chain was shown.
And the surprising thing is, all of that was covered in mainstream media. You might say they finally got the sense that it was now going out of hand.
What I think drove the point home was COVID. In no way I mean to disrespect all the causalities of the deadly pandemic, but it sure made us stop and watch where we were going. I mean, all these things were going around us for a while now. But this time, people were forced to stay home and actually notice. The media was there to supply the information too. And the internet was there to tell you that “thanks to whom” why this was not so big of an issue till now.
Governments seemed to have gotten the message. Or at least in part at some places.
Some have agreed to meet the targets. Anyhow it seems there is some consolidation on this point, and climate has moved up the priority list for governments worldwide. But in the end, the scope of implementation depends on the country’s internal politics.
For me, it seems clear that the real issue here is the economic model we are following. The culture of “excess” which engulfed the world a few decades ago, is the centerpiece of this model. We are expected to generate more than we can consume. Naturally, that is thrown away, but neither it ensures everyone getting the resources, neither does it care for the effects of the resources being produced on the planet.
What it does care for is the money.
There are several alternatives to it, and you can look up numerous resources for that. But the issue remains that this is the real cause, and this needs to be fixed along with the effects we are seeing today in form of global pollution menace.
Canada seems to have understood the message, it seems. But how politically motivated that is, I am not sure.
On the other hand, half of the population of the US seems to think otherwise. If that’s not the case, then why Trump?
This takes us to the next big problem. The US.
The US, the pioneer of global relationships and opportunities, had been going awry for a while. Though blame does not solely lie on them alone, even so, there must be an issue if we still see racial bias this radical, after 150 years of Emancipation Proclamation.
Drugs, immorality, racial divide, crime, immigrant bias. A lot is going on, which is definitely not right. But somehow, few so-called elite-whites have been propelling sentiments, which not only give more flames to such heinous sentiments and things but rather make them self-believe that they somehow are victims of not only the American society but the whole world. And that the world owes them. Yeah, really.
So, what we saw as a by-product was Donald Trump.
I have enough self-esteem to avoid writing about this guy. Many have and are covering this guy extensively. I don’t think he deserves such attention. What does deserve attention is why this guy was so successful. Why even after four years of watching this nonsense, half of the United States still voted for him.
And that is the issue here.
I mean, China has been a threat for a long while. Slowly and surely, it was growing its influence and rapport internationally. But the money was enough for the politicians to look away. See, politics, no matter how they describe it, still runs on money, hence supports capitalism, and so the corporations. Who cares about the environment then? At least they get money. People are happy. They get elected again. What is human rights infringement in China? They are just producing goods cheaply. And that’s good for everyone. Right?
But China changed its mind this year. Or maybe it was Jinping.
And the world could not look away anymore. After all, there was nothing else to look at. And no one else to blame.
Leave COVID aside, the failed attempts at diplomacy by Chinese authorities worldwide, and still the power they wielded was enough to move eyes around.
And it seems enough eyes moved. Thanks to what? See.
But the US. What went on there was some sort of a spectacle. Bad, but still a spectacle. Every time you saw what was going around, what was happening, people there, and their reactions.
Wow. Just Wow. This was the only thing one could say.
From the environment to plastic pollution, to COVID response, to China to everything that went on there. What should the world be thankful for?
Just what is happening there?
The United States is not a country that enjoys the position it has just by chance. It had great people and great leaders who worked for the benevolence of not only the Americans but for the whole world. And that’s why the world respected them.
And what happened last week, and for what reason, it happened. That has got nothing to do with that.
It’s clear the respect which America got somehow got into the minds of Americans as ego, but that only could not have ruined this country so much. No matter what they say, what anyone says, the world needs America.
But not like this.
These people are not the cause; they are the effect.
CCP issue is not going anywhere by itself. Nor are other issues presented here. America has to stand with the world. Americans themselves need to think and introspect. No one else will do it. No one else can do it.
All in all, from what it seems to me, last year was sort of an eye-opener on a large number of fronts for many people. It made sure people were looking and made sure they were looking at what matters. What we as an individual can take away from it, we should definitely do. But at the very least, we should not just forget it and continue with our business, like we have conditioned ourselves to do.
The year of Rat, indeed.
