Oh foolish man!

We live in a time of uncertainty and imbalance. An unstable currency, price rise, instability, poor governance – all these could make one feel as though these are troubled times. On the brighter side we are in the golden space age. Sci-Fi movies of the seventies are turning out to into reality. Technological advances have certainly made our lives comfortable and certainly very complicated. The internet boom, the reduced commuting times, smart phones, faster computers, smart gadgets – all seem to have come as gift from the almighty himself.

We live in an age where anything that is smarter, faster and better is acknowledged and the rest discarded. Our obsession with this new age philosophy has also reflected on our demands for better health. It is after all common understanding that a good health is an integral part of a good life. I spoke to my grand mother a few days ago with the intension of understanding the health situation during her days as a young adult. I was surprised to learn that they enjoyed a healthier childhood than the one we had, even with poor sanitation and low food availability.

Human health can be easily regarded as one of the most important priorities of mankind and the total monetary expenditure in this sector can only be matched by defense. Billions of dollars are invested every year on healthcare research and yet as the day passes by – we are in a more insecure health situation. The basic question we can then ask is – why?

Our grandparents and our parents were brought up in an environment which was pristine. The low pollution levels, good quality food and water, favorable temperatures – made their childhoods memorable. The situation has however drastically changed in the last twenty years! I pity the kids born today!

The high levels of pollution welcome them into this earth offering them gifts of respiratory illnesses; they grow up into an uncertain future of sudden climatic changes and unpredictable weather patterns. Their lives would be miserable!

It’s a foolish world we are a part of, and we are equally ignorant. I have a beehive on the ceiling of my third floor apartment balcony. The moment the other tenants in the apartment complex noticed it – they saw free honey; their immediate reaction – burn it down. Even after my repeated attempts to make them understand the importance of bees to maintain the natural cycle of life, they were unrelenting. This standoff continues to the day. Introspecting on their replies, I was convinced that this generation of young adults / parents has either become extremely heartless or is just ignorantly stubborn.

I would go with the fact that most of us are ignorant. But the situation warrants that we must open our eyes and act. Global climatic changes would drastically affect our lives and those of our children. No parent amongst us would want to gift his / her child an uncertain future. We do a lot of sacrifices for our children - most notably by building a strong monetary system to support them. But we never pause to think about the basic necessities that would be required for their survival - good food, clean air and pure water. If you are a parent reading this, I am sure you have now understood what is at stake. Educate yourself first, then your neighbor.
Spread the word and save the world!
It’s a foolish world we live in. You can opt to make it less foolish!

Let greed not destroy us,

Wake up!