Changing Face of Radicalism

May be one of the reasons that I have developed a fondness for little events with some sort of conclusions and interpretation came from the “moral lessons” of school textbooks as well as little story books for children? When I look back, I find that textbook designers were wanted to achieve two objectives simultaneously, teaching the language and morality. The reason that I brought up those moral stories is, in a way they have implanted in me from an earlier age that learning from wise men is a wise act. Frankly, I am growing increasingly doubtful about this. Wherever, I see more stress on the words of the wise men, I see more aggression and inhuman behaviors.

If I dilute things out and do not go for Marxists, Jihadist and Libertarians' gig names and choose the most respected one like Plato, again I find the same issue. In the Book VII of the “Republic” after telling (through Socrates) how a “Just City” should form and look like, he then goes for how to implement it in an existing city. He proposes to kill or banish everyone over ten years old and raise the children in the manner he has outlined………. Now, if someone with a strong will gets inspired from Plato and tries to make such a just city, the result will be a humanitarian catastrophe. In fact, it has already happened many times but in different versions and under different titles. Take all major revolutions; there were deliberate killings or cleansing for creating “Just societies”. From French, Americans, Russian, Germans, Chinese, Turks, Indian/Pakistanis, Iranian, Arabs, Latin Americans all have tasted and practiced it in one or another form. Although these countries have seen brief humanitarian crises during their revolutions/independence however, afterwards they have moved to be better societies. In fact, these countries celebrate those times as their most romantic times.

Contradicting myself, I also consider them romantic times as those were times when people were standing for what they were thinking as justice and the REASON that I consider them romantic times is due to shrinking stands for justice and increasing stands on identities in our times. If people in first and second decades of last century were standing for economic and social justice…. today, a century later when the whole globe turned into a “village” and “all nations” have signed on “Human Rights” bill, it is no more justice or just societies that people stand for but the identities.

Honor asks to ban/kill

Freedom asks to ban/arrest

Frankly, Seeing “Burqa” has become a hot political issue is a Yuk moment for me. I should say, it is a yuk time in the history. It is such downgrading even in radicalism that it is no more society but it is the very personal issues, like head covering, beard, trousers and hair styles that have become most important issues. It appears to me Tribal values have overtaken both religious and secular values and have successfully dragged contemporary people around the world from societal issues into personal issues.