Syed Mohsin Raza
Nature, with all its atrocities and absurdities, still principally benefits humans beyond refreshing the sources and resources of the earth. The conversion of ‘energy into work’ in response to some intellectual or physical activity is a noteworthy transformation assisted by a vital phenomenon of perspiration to ensure the normal functioning of human body systems; the nonessential elements are ‘evaporated’ (lost into the air) that can damage boy otherwise. Nonetheless, the evaporation of energy! Even perturbs nature itself may happen in manmade systems of governance as the laws of economics governing the contemporary world seem to have mere claims of empowerment, advancement, accomplishment, welfare, and well-being of mankind in the form of an improved standard of life and brighter future for all as the outcome of investing energy in particular fields in someone’s overall challenging career. Ironically, these highest ideals of cherished human civilization of the 21st century do not come true for more than 95% of the world’s socialized animals; rather, their energy is used up to fight the excruciating mirage of prosperity. These gullible subjects have been dragged into some paradoxical state of affairs like “saving time–to spend time” and “avoiding efforts to make efforts” designed and powered by the world’s dominating politico-economic ideologies.
The imperialistic hegemonic power elite manipulates the psyche of the masses across the globe to engage them in the sensual pleasures of life. The ‘false consciousness’ to have freedom of access to material gains compels the people of the earth to subconsciously begin converting their energies into paper money (which means doing some jobs to earn stimulant money) to enjoy that pseudo freedom. That ‘paper money’ is superfluously used to fuel luxuries that provide limited facilities for a limited time frame and urge the merry-making individual to incessantly invest time and put efforts into maintaining that particular status or standard. The transitional nature of the relationship between human energy versus paper money manifests that the readily and steadily evaporating (losing) human energy accelerates the vicious circle of further earnings, further exacerbating the crisis for the general masses to actually own something in the long run; the majority always constitutes the ‘have-nots’. No thanks to enlightened scholars who guide the credulous to conserve their ‘energy money’ with the aid of infallible financial institutions. Hoarding the wealth of the nation cannot be legitimated on the pretext of secure savings and investment to earn some calculated interest in the face of volatile politico-economic indicators, the onerous debt of IMF, gruesome growth of population, irksome inflation; literally, the country needs entrepreneurs self-employed people.
The iconic celebrities, the directors of idealism, the producers of fool’s paradise, and the preachers of escapism persuade consumers and viewers of chemically poisonous consumer and culturally polluted entertainment products to convert their energy into evolving mania and euphoria. ‘Consumerism’ and superficial lifestyles welcome the ‘diseases of civilization’, and morally obligated Medicaid mills practice defensive medicine and prescribe the alleged lifesaving drugs and supplements to achieve guaranteed vitality. Thus, the affected have to channel their energies to keep up their interminable struggle to treat the overwhelming psycho-physiological sickness. Another aspect of modern life, the appalling viral pandemic anomy, impregnated by cultural imperialism and nourished by mainstream media, subsequently utterly destroys social solidarity to achieve absolute control. These proliferators of record-breaking ailments, devastators of desired harmony and generators of personality disorder are asserted to be natural disasters; in response to people’s insensitivity to the real benefits of imported cultural traits and inventions.
Unfortunately, in the best interest of the public, the government’s judicious expeditious reprisal for non-conformists and perpetrators generally seeks; the increased surveillance and fencing of cities and rigorous tracking of individuals through their IDs and mobile connections to bring social order. Actually, these inefficient barricade self-confidence, creativity and personal liberty with the element of fear and a sense of breach of privacy. Painfully, the government commits criminal negligence itself by not putting considerable efforts to uproot the problem at the cultural level too; after all, it provides an ideology to foster national unanimity, nurtures the means of self-control (in fact, real control) and brings forward the stalwart role models and charismatic leaders to salvage the nation from the chaotic domestic affairs. Likewise, the agencies of socialization are currently vigorously infusing the spirit of ‘credential-ism’ as the perfect survival and growth strategy for economic beings. They are abominably compromising the development of visionary, upright and balanced personalities to transform students into human resources; yes, they are throttling creativity. Besides, they are overlooking the internalization of core cultural values; necessary to boast nationhood, patriotism, and ‘communitarian-ism’ among social beings.
Consequently, the repercussions of extensive deviance and negligence plunge the nation into the morass of individualism, materialism and ‘retreat-ism’; these fictitious pursuits of life further inflame the ‘sense of marginalization’, ‘feelings of deprivation’, ‘culture of victimization’, compassion fatigue, hysteria and the like among the unprivileged. The hackers of national mentality usher a new wave of; antagonism by secessionists, political gatherings by misconceived harbingers of change, and spiritual congregations mesmerizing the audience and adherents through melodious performers—participants have to pay dear opportunity cost. The spearheads of such movements have no parallel roadmaps to practically enable the alienated to attain social mobility or to become conscientious and self-sufficient in politico-economic matters but rather speed up the irresistible evaporation of people’s time and energy which results in the wastage of national resources. Alas! The architects of exploitative systems debilitate social institutions and practically slowly siege, on second thought, usurp the potential energy of the masses in a systematic and scientific manner, directing the kinetic energy to galvanize the insatiable lust for worldly ambitions. Social Darwinism is a shame; exhaustion of the sources of natural and human energy in preserving unjust social stratification and in the broader spectrum fighting info-wars, establishing neo-colonialism with the assistance of cooperative international institutions is quite alarming as the cultured humans are primarily using the energy to feed stress and anarchy over peace, harmony and progress. Fellow citizens of the earth! Frankly, this is not the way to live in this world.
