Why...?

The mood is grim and I bet there are hundreds of people blogging right now about this very issue...but after all this blog is about satisfying a need for self-expression so here I am, at it again!

"I hope this is your number Sid. Anyway, I've reached home safe." This message worked its way to me, all the way from Mumbai 7000km away with the help of technology Mankind had not dreamed of a few centuries back. To tell me that a friend was safe from men shooting at others. Staring out the window this November morning I felt my mood being reflected in the sight that met my eyes- bare trees against an overcast autumn sky. One question, one thought kept running through my mind like a stuck tape-recorder. Why...WHY? Why in the world would a teenager want to pick up a gun and murder, in cold blood, complete strangers who'd done nothing except impinge on his line of sight?! On the surface I seem to know the answer or answers, rather; religious fanaticism, brain-washing, a misplaced belief in a greater good, simple blood-lust and the temporary feeling of invincibility or, most frightening of all, a firm belief in emphatic promises of a blessed after-life- promises made in arrogance, accepted in faith. But as is most often the case with such a simple question, the more answers you have, the farther you are from the truth.

One of the beliefs I hold on to as tight as I can is that every human being is good. After all, like is often said, every single person is born with a clean slate. Like dust gathering on a shelf that is just out of reach, however, we allow that innate goodness to be smothered under the smoke of a false sense of oppression and need for justice. And when we do climb a stool and look at that topmost shelf its dismal state surprises, even shocks us. A twinge of conscience, one clean sweep with a mop and the shelf is forgotten once again. "We shall not let them go unpunished" is by no means a solution. As rifles end lives in one corner of the world, in another corner normal everyday citizens rush to stores so they can purchase weapons for 'self-defence' before the next president clamps down on the purchase of fire-arms. There was a man who once who said that an eye for an eye would make the whole world blind. Believing that every one of us can find that goodness within, time and again he came perilously close to losing his life trying to stop complete strangers from strangling each other. But more importantly, every time he broke his fast it was a signal that he had succeeded in his endeavour- to reach beyond that crust of superiority, hatred, animosity and anger in a person and touch the living, beating human heart within. Yes, cliched though it may sound, I am talking about Mahatma Gandhi. He came unlooked for, was felled by the evil he tried to root out and is now sorely missed. A very disturbing notion crossed my mind recently, showing how badly we needed a few more souls like his...

I wonder- in the by-and-large lawful Western world, just how much of the peace they enjoy comes out of a genuine human desire for peace, rather than out of a fear of swift, severe reprisal! It is a scary day indeed when peace becomes a commodity bought with military currency. It is a scary day indeed when one rushes to buy a gun, "because who knows how many the guy next door's got!" I hope and pray with all my heart that that day hasn't come yet. That we get on that stool and clean the shelf before it collapses under the weight of the dirt it's accumulated.

The question repeats itself...why?