What a terrible era in which the idiots govern the blind.
~ William Shakespeare ~
Can I withdraw from an ugly world, a world outfitted with animosity and cruelty, hidden behind a mask of fictitious empathy? Can a refusal to participate in this despicable theatre serve as a stern assertion—that suffocating the innocent beneath a blanket of the ashes of human decency and compassion is inexcusable and a miserable deviation from kindness and tolerance? Or is my desire for withdrawal just another complaint, an empty repetitive whine that places me behind the same mask that hides insensitivity and apathy?
It is widely said that Mahatma Ghandhi said “Be the change you want to see in the world,” though that sentence is probably a paraphrase of Gandhi’s philosophical admonitions and his teachings, rather than a direct quote. Ghandi did not advocate withdrawing from an intractable world. But by suggesting that we should “be the change,” he implies that change is possible, one citizen of the world at a time. I think he saw a different world, not one in which citizenship is used as a cruel cudgel of control. Only when I feel vestiges of hope do I dare to think I can “be the change.” Otherwise, I can admit only to wishing fairy tales were based on reality.
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A blind and aggressive nation follows its flaws as if they were directives from the divine. We either watch and weep or sacrifice in the name of salvation.
