“ The world is like a bargain counter
Where silence is accursed
And the man who shouts the loudest
Is waited upon first.”
The Blair Bush Project has finally proved to be successful. Even if the ‘weapons of mass destruction’ still remain well concealed in their mysterious hidey-hole. Even if the miasma of war has supposedly exhilarated the thousands of Iraqi faces, obfuscating their pall of gloom. And even if like a spiral in a circle, the despair and the anguish will continue to go on and on and on.
However the day the granite sculpture of Saddam Hussein was grazed down, it proved to be a happy occasion for many. Another era had come to an end! But I was terribly hurt. Not because I did not want him to come down to earth but because all the time I was under the impression that Islam does not permit the stone freezing of any mortal. This blasphemous act is considered a sacrilege as it amounts to idol worship done only by kafirs. I would know that because these rules had been underlined, highlighted and quoted boldly by some erudite scholars, when the people of Berhampur had wanted to ‘immortalize’ my Daddy. My mummy however, was not so learned. And we definitely did not have a voice then. So it was no wonder that all our benign appeals were quashed.
Therefore it came more as a shocker when pictures of Mr. Saddam Hussein’s lifeless form being dragged, stamped and trampled upon were being splashed all over the BBC and CNN. And I secretly admired the Blair Bush Project for, apart from redeeming the fate of a few, had also shown a side of the truth that I had been unaware of. So, while the entire world rejoiced, I could not help but ponder over certain manmade rules.
Why is it that rules are always flexible? Or is it that they apply only to a particular class of people- those who are powerless to defend themselves, those who cannot boast of spiritual or political qualifications and those who are duly blighted with a compassionate quality called silence. There is ample proof of this bitter truth, as even History bears testimony to this mute subjugation of facts.
Hitler’s autocratic powers were fittingly reflected in his crazy governance. Mussolini’s oppression had its effect on the powerless people of Italy. Pinochet’s despotic influence quelled the rights of the citizens of Chile. Franco’s tyranny had the Spaniards in a state of terror. And Saddam’s is the recent living (?!!?) example of the commoners oppression. But all said and done the Blair & Bush lethal combination, of not only invalidating certain rules but also self- certifying themselves as the global police sure tops the list.
One more thing stands out clear. Except for the Blair Bush project that emerged as victorious, we, the common people, cannot but ignore the silver lining in each of the earlier Dictator’s domineering yet cloudy reigns- the mere fact that every single autocrat had laid down a set of rules that were so elastic that they ultimately managed to snap back into their own faces. However there is one more important truth that simply cannot be ignored. However strong the Blair Bush project proves to be, no matter what, one single power (or a weird combination of powers) cannot flex its muscles to try and straighten the entire world. Not if ninety-nine per cent of the voices are raised against the one odd ‘man who shouts the loudest’.
In this bargain counter called the world, silence may be accursed but only for a while. For when it finally does manage to raise its united and benevolent head, it will have to be waited upon, softly yet graciously. And the one throat that manages to produce the most boisterous and thunderous voice will ultimately be strangled. Its true, one single drop might prove beneficial in the making of a mighty ocean but Nature knows no fury like the colossal ocean scorned.
Today one is reminded of a King called Julius Caesar, whom Cassius described as ‘He who rides the world like a Collosus’. Simultaneously, one also cannot forget a gentle giant in Greek mythology called Atlas, who so lovingly carried the weight of the entire world on his titanic shoulders. And it does not take a lot of imagination for any rational mind to picture this. Supporting the world and throwing one’s weight around are two entirely different concepts!
Nargis Natarajan.