Why are we at war?
There are plenty of questions that we humans need to ask ourselves, especially during these trying times, writes Tan
WE live in unprecedented times. Chaos reigns supreme. Our perception of life has taken a new meaning. Gone are the days of international travel. Missing is the euphoria of attending live concerts.
Banished are the thoughts of cultural celebrations, where many converge to witness.
Social interactions in confined spaces are no longer encouraged. Strangers look at each other with suspicion. Friendly hugs are rare. Handshakes seem odd. Whispering to each other is never a common sight. High-fives take a backstage. Gestures to convey warmth are long forgotten.
Home is now the safest place. The unseen enemy is prowling in the dark even when the sun’s shining. Everything we touch is threaded with caution. Everyone we meet is a suspect. Even some animals aren’t spared. No wonder we live in fear.
Extroverts derive energy from social interactions. Introverts lose energy with every interaction. This distinction is well understood. Virtual interactions, however, can never replace the affection explicitly demonstrated when you meet someone face to face.
How then can the promotion of current new norms help the extroverts? Without practising the new norms, how then can we curb the spread?
We comprehend with greater clarity how it spreads and who are the vulnerable ones. We might seem unperturbed by the gravity of the situation, but we all know that in-depth knowledge of our enemy is the most effective way to have a greater chance of victory.
MUCH THAT WE DON’T KNOW
Knowing the enemy is one of Sun Tzu’s most important messages in the celebrated Art of War.
The more you know your enemy, the greater the chances of swift victory. Know yourself, know your enemy and understand well the terrain is the cornerstone of his ideas that has withstood the test of time for centuries.
There are seven of them currently circulating among us ready to pounce. But the latest one bears the hallmark of a battled hardened enemy. They’ve jumped into humans before. This one, though, is leaving a massive trail of destruction. Suddenly the world is at a standstill. Despair and fear suffocate us as we scramble for cover. We’ve conquered the moon. We sent unmanned exploratory missions to the edge of our galaxy. We tease the idea of jumping space finding ways to travel back in time. We found the Higgs boson hidden in a pile of exotic particles. We finally detected gravitational waves.
Yet, standing before us is something we’re unprepared for. So we scramble for answers. We pour over historical data for clues. We seek collaborations of phenomenal magnitude. Pioneering technology is embraced wholeheartedly. Science takes centre stage all over again.
We know so much. But there’s a lot more that we don’t know. Especially since the enemy is changing its pattern with the progression of time. Ambiguity used to be accepted with pride. However, the current lack of deeper understanding is driving us nowhere.
We’re trapped in a world of our own creation. We seek answers far and beyond. We never abandon hope. We shouldn’t in this arduous journey. We need to have faith. We need to believe that the turbulent storm will eventually pass. Faith is needed when darkness looms.
The elderly, in the twilight of life, suddenly are held hostage in their own homes. The hope of further exploration hinges in a balance.
Restriction in travel only means their loved ones are trapped elsewhere if they live alone. They cannot touch the faces of their grandchildren. They’re deprived of the hugs that bring warmth and love to their soul.
The emptiness is unbearable. They’re robbed of their golden years through no fault of their own. In their most vulnerable days, the world comes crashing down. They can only stare in disbelief. They might protest in silence. But sunshine is still beyond sight.
How cruel is today’s world.
PROTECT EACH OTHER
But why should we complain when the world teaches us to be competitive. In order to stay ahead of the pack, we must fight for ourselves first. If we don’t get noticed in the corporate world, how can we forge a better career?
If we’re magnanimous, our ideas will forever belong to others who are hungry for recognition. If our adversaries strike us hard, will we just give way in order to avoid confrontation? If we’re unselfish in love, will we be perceived as weak? If we don’t fight for love, what’s still worth fighting for?
Reality hardens our stance. Experience shapes our character.
But no one wants to be left behind. So we must protect ourselves and each other. We need to find ways to work together. The selfish ones might show kindness if the world is drenched in a sea of love. The ignorant ones will understand more about loving others if the world keeps showing the way.
We can’t expect everyone to follow suit. That is pure utopian. However, we can have more people leading without hesitation. After all, what we need is an agent of change. This person can be any one of us. There’s a hero in each of us. It’s a matter of time before the hero leaps into the limelight.
The butterfly effect is synonymous with the ideas of chaos. Our actions have a multiplier effect to the edges of the continent. Yet we’re sometimes oblivious to this possibility. The chain reaction is beyond our control once it takes place. What we do today has dire consequences tomorrow. If we’re guilty of our choices then no one can save us but ourselves.
In this prolonged war, there are only casualties. We need to ask ourselves what we’ve done to deserve this. Why do we still plunder the riches without remorse?
Our home is more than 4.5 billion years old. Held tightly by the gravity of the sun and supported by other planets. It’s the fundamental collaboration between these celestial bodies that’s preventing our home from plunging into the edges of the universe.
If the celestial bodies can work together to hold us firmly with confidence, why can’t we do the same for ourselves?