Judgement Day
Ok, this is the entry which i posted for the ISC Symposium at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. This entry was selected from around 2000 entries all over the world (yeah yeah im showing off, but u see, i cant help myself!!) Anyways, I thought of posting that essay here. Happy reading and tell me how u felt. I would also like to use this opportunity to thank all my friends who helped to make this essay a reality!!
The Symposium:
http://www.stgallen-symposium.org/stgallen-symposium/
My Contribution:
http://www.stgallen-symposium.org/stgallen-symposium/index/student_award/selected_contributions.htm
Judgement Day
It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.
- Sir Josiah Stamp (1896-1919)
- Sir Josiah Stamp (1896-1919)
Sometime in the not-so-distant future, the ravages of war, famine and death had laid the earth bare. The hosts of Hell and Heaven were ready to launch into Armageddon. God was looking down on his creation and had one of His famous changes of heart. He summoned his archangel Michael to Him and said sorrowfully
"I do not want to destroy this most wondrous of my creations- Man. I would like to give him another chance. I would like him to explain his position to me. Kindly inform the other side, so that they may refute the testimony. A Devil's advocate, as it may." He allowed himself a small smile.
Michael bowed his head and left. Approaching the battlefield, he called about Beelzebub, the commander of Satan's forces and conveyed the Father's message to him. Beelzebub was annoyed, but calmed down when he realised they could present their case too. As a concession, he asked that, if Man lost their argument, that the race be destroyed without any delay. Michael agreed……..
Adam was sleeping snugly in his bed, unaware of celestial intervention in his life. He woke up and went about his daily ablutions, still unaware. He tossed aside his newspaper, disgusted with the daily happenings and was sipping his tea when his ground slipped from under his feet, literally. He found himself kneeling on all fours before a magnificent throne. He could not cast his eyes on the figure that sat on it, because it was a blinding white light. He looked around and seraphs and angels filled the court, because a court was what it felt like.
He stood up gingerly and heard a booming voice speak out "Adam Johnson, you have been brought into this court to speak for the whole of Mankind so that you maybe saved. The Heavenly Father shall hear you."
Adam could not form a coherent sentence because of all the questions that were fighting for freedom. Into the confused recesses of his mind burst a single sardonic voice that chilled him to his marrow.
"Can we get this over with? We have a planet to destroy." It was Beelzebub.
In a small voice, Adam asked, "What is required of me, Lord?"
The benevolent voice spoke from the Throne, "My Son, you need to speak about what Mankind has done in the time I accorded to them. Have they made good the abilities I bestowed? What did they do with the freedom that they enjoyed, apart from all of my creations? Did they understand their responsibilities to those weaker than them? What did they make of themselves? The other side has brought Beelzebub to present their case."
Adam arose slowly, but his heart was sinking. There couldn't be any way he could convince his Creator of Mankind's deserving to survive.
Beelzebub was smirking. He cleared his throat, shuffled his copious notes and embarked on an opening statement.
"For many millions of years, Man walked this Earth. He was granted intelligence no other being was. He was given resources, capabilities and master-ship of all he surveyed. He was given the freedom - to choose and all that was required of him was that he understand and undertake his duties and responsibilities. Yet, since the outset, his choices were wrong, his methods and ideas brought incalculable grief - to himself and those around him. He turned the Garden of Eden into the Tower of Babel and finally, into Sodom & Gomorrah. Man, as an individual has ruined his health, his time and his money on frivolous activities which can only cause pain and suffering to his life.”
He turned to Adam and inclined his head.
Adam started hesitantly,
"We are not responsible for the sins or excesses of our ancestors. We do realise our responsibilities towards our fellow creatures and the planet and we are doing the necessary. We've made mistakes, but we're rectifying them."
Beelzebub interjected smoothly,
“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility[1]. The freedom that Man enjoyed was an intoxicant. In its grip, he snatched the freedom of his fellow men, he subjugated them he killed, looted and pillaged and destroyed every vestige of humanity in him. History is built on the foundation of war, bloodshed and slavery. Man forgot his responsibilities to Society and Society forgot its duties. What can he do to remedy these wrongs? There is no apocalypse we may wish upon them that they have not done to themselves yet.”
Adam flushed hotly.
“Since pre-historical times, we’ve recognised that freedom is the pre-requisite for Man to function properly and give back to society – socially, economically, culturally and artistically. Responsibility can only be conferred when total freedom is given for development of the person. Society cannot be stable without free citizens. History maybe filled with wars and bloodshed, but it is also marked by the concepts of non-violence and democracy. True democracy is the most pure of notions, containing within itself the one tenet of humanity- equality. Democracy can only be fostered through complete freedom – of thought, expression, belief and speech. We’ve remedied the misdeeds of the past. We’re doing to best to prove the prophecies of ‘Revelation’ wrong. The age of weapons is long past. This is the age of globalisation, and not of wars.”
Beelzebub found a chink in the armour,
“Globalization? Ah! Humanity worships money. But not all of humanity has economic equality. Governments treat their citizens in terms of purchasing power. Countries trample other countries with the power of money. Economic freedom to individuals manifests itself in people building a life for themselves by any means. But this freedom is not supported by the desire to take responsibility of changing this scenario. The constant refrain is ‘someone else will take care of it’. This translates into the attitude of whole countries as well. How easy for them to brand other nations as Third World or backward. Then, as if to assuage the feelings of guilt they harbour, they distribute ‘aid’ to ‘lesser developed countries’. Even the aid is for making profits. Countries are attacked and looted for its natural resources. How much longer?
What will be the final straw that breaks the camel’s back? The purchasing-power-parity gulf between per capita income in the United States and in India today is not a factor of two but a factor of twenty[2]. This inequality wouldn’t have mattered, if it weren’t for the fact that in this new century, money is the new means of colonialism and subjugation. History, it seems to me, is repeating itself.”
Adam countered the arguments,
“We all strive for economic betterment. But being free, we are granted the opportunities to achieve our goals. As a society, economic equality maybe achieved if every individual is responsible, first, for himself and then for society. In countries, where freedom is just paid lip-service, economic equality cannot even be guaranteed among her own citizens. Witness countries, like Afghanistan, where social freedom was denied to her people, the disparity in the classes of people was much wider compared to those in democratic countries. For entire countries, money is a means of development and helping humanity as a whole. What applies to the individual applies to the country and by extension, to the human race. The moment that freedom is given to every single human being, would be the moment where the true potential of the race would bloom. Addressing the concept of individual and social responsibility, we can reason in the same way, that unless freedom is guaranteed to the masses, responsibility may not be demanded.
The responsibility given to a beast of burden is different compared to that given to a free man, but to an enslaved human, we may not ask that he perform the same actions with the same degree of responsibility. An enslaved society, at best, is an indifferent society. Social vibrance can be measured only in societies that are guaranteed freedom in every sense of the word.”
Beelzebub said, “I disagree. Slightly less than a century ago, a country finally got it right. By giving up the individual interest to social welfare, and curbing personal freedom, they hoped to achieve a Utopian state. There were strict restrictions; but there was economic and social equality. The levels of human development in the socialist states were incomparable to the so called “developed” countries. People were encouraged to cooperate and not compete. But all the Western countries ostracised the people behind Iron Curtain till the point they fell apart. The so-called “freedom of a citizen” won out, and Communism has given way to Capitalism; the Capitalism of the egotist- one whose mantra is I, myself and mine. Where competition is the key and the winner takes all. Thus, freedom led to degradation of morals. Corruption is the watchword of those leaders who are supposed to be epitomes of virtue. THIS is the responsibility bred of freedom and money. This is the hallmark of the human race – self-centred, selfish and with no love for his fellow man.”
Adam was sweating and his hands were clammy. He rubbed them surreptitiously on his trousers and took a deep breath.
“Capitalism needs the support of freedom. Communism exists in the void left by the absence of individual freedom. The reason that Communist countries fell apart is because that corruption was more rampant there than in capitalist countries. The basic precepts of Communism cannot be faulted, but their methods have failed. You cannot force an individual to live his life according to some else’s wishes. Individual’s needs and aspirations were being shattered. By neglecting the welfare of the individual, they ultimately neglected the welfare of the country. In fact, the opposing side has been proving my earlier statements that freedom is a requisite for social welfare to exist. In the present scenario, it is the Capitalist countries that have achieved great strides in social welfare.
Social welfare cannot be forced on to the people; a welfare state cannot exist in isolation. It can only be achieved by collective effort. You cannot be a modern Robin Hood and rob the rich to pay the poor. But, it can be achieved. It HAS been achieved, if you look at statistics from many countries, all of which enjoy freedom in all its sense. What has to be done is to inculcate in the citizens an awareness of the problems in society and a need to contribute in the growth of the nation. As Elbert Hubbard has said, ‘Responsibility is the price of freedom.’ And we’re ready to accept the price!”
Beelzebub delivered his closing statement with vitriol,
“This is all a case of too little, too late. A thousand years of Purgatory cannot wipe the slate clean. Man has forgotten his responsibility to himself, his family, his nation, the human race, to his fellow creatures, to his Universe and finally to his God. I submit to the jury and the judge the evidence from the history that we all know of and propose that we do away with this race forever and start anew.”
Adam closed his eyes and said a short prayer to the benevolent Father on the throne,
“Even the prodigal son was given a second chance. We value our freedom beyond measure and we will pay the price demanded. The question is not whether we deserved to be decimated, but whether our survival is well deserved. History has proved that man has valued his individual freedom and has treated it with responsibility. We are evolving as a race and we could make mistakes in between. Our mistakes are being corrected. I have defended our position and it is up to the jury to decide the fate of the human race.”
He fell once more on his knees and buried his face in his hands.
The court sat in crystal silence. It was finally broken when as one, the seraphs got up to deliver the verdict….
**************
As human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off our responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. We must shoulder it ourselves. It is our responsibility.
-Arnold J. Toynbee (1889-1975)
-Arnold J. Toynbee (1889-1975)
References
[1] Freud, Sigmund. The Ego and the Id, London, W.W. Norton & Co., 1962
[2] Delong, Bradford J., The World’s income distribution – turning the corner?, February 2001
Online: http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/TotW/world_income_dist.html
posted by Padakkam @ 11:25 AM
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