Thursdays with an Ideological Ignoramus

It is starting to seem as though the rhythm of verbosity eludes me as of yet and I cannot seem to find the right footing in the consistency I wish to bring to this endeavor. It appears that Thursday is my day of reckoning and somber self indulgence. Perhaps such is the sad case of my writing prowess or perhaps it is the fast moving world around me that has kept me at bay from my new found juncture of resonance and singular consciousness. Regardless, here I am, out on another witch hunt to subdue some nagging demons and face the daunting task of collaborating the awareness’s for myself and you who read.

Since Thursday seems to bring with it a theme of instigation, I have decided to use this as a consistent venue of embarking into new directions of questioning and knowledge. Ergo, Thursdays are strictly reserved to discuss things that can be labeled as foreign to me, whether it be news, information about a movie, television show, or music; today is about discovery. Let us then take this journey into the unknown and see what is in store for us.

Lets ascent with the place where it is supposed to have all begun, AFRICA. I came across this question; “Why is the African Continent poor?” and it is definitely something that caught my attention. I realized that this was something that I had some inkling about in the back of my mind, but was never a question that I had explored. I believe that I can dedicate an entire post to just going over this, but I will just highlight some of the main things and leave it up to you to read the rest on your own. I sincerely hope you do, because it will make you see how the past plays a vital role in the everyday workings of today, how the flight of one can be the plight of the other. The aftermath of colonialism on the African countries is much more lasting and engrained than most other regions around the world and it seems to have left a dark scar on a continent rich with resources, life and cultures. It also provides insight into how the “Human Condition” and the vices that haunt us impact the environment, the culture, the standard and way of life for an entire population. The heinous acts of a few, effectuate the many. As aptly put, “Africa is not poor; Africa is just poorly managed”.

From exploring the jaded abyss of a continent, lets transition into the unusual realm of “Internet Addiction”. Something rather disturbing caught my attention in relation with this. According to the article, there are boot camps for “Internet Addicts” in Beijing, China. The Director of the Beijing center defines Internet Addict as “anyone who is on the internet for at least six hours a day and has little interest in school”. By that definition, I believe, a large percentage of the population here in the US will be diagnosed with “Internet Addiction”. One of the methods used to, as they say, cure or control the addiction is “electro-stimulation”. Need I say more?

Perhaps that wasnt the best segway or combination of brand new territories that could have been concocted, but given the fact that I have been hard pressed for time to explore, I hope these would suffice. In retrsopect, I would like to channel the focus to the simple fact that, to me, seems to connect the two new pieces at hand: The Human Condition. I know I have mentioned this before, but the commonality is the fact that we have enough control to make whatever we want of the circumstances and situations around us, but yet it seems we search for reasons and rationalizations that place the given scenarios into a realm that is beyond our control and for which, there is no hope. There is hope; what it will require is a confrontation with ourselves, a thorough and honest look within our way of functioning and most importantly it requires truth. The power and ability of being truthful to ourselves and others around us will most certainly, in my opinion, propel us onto heights from where we can, perhaps, look at these issues from a gestalt point of view. Let us, in sync, strive towards a profundity that can help clear up the convoluted mess that is in the center of stories as these. Let us: “Rise out of Ignorance”.

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~ by syedqasimuddin on August 28, 2009.