HUMANITY VERSUS THE ‘POLITICS OF GREATNESS’

 Separation of politics and religion considered as secularism. Then what name can we suggest for the separation of politics and humanity?

- KEERTHIRAJ

I know my argument will be obsolete for majority of readers here. If someone argues humanity is greater than wealth and intelligence, most of the times we think it is mere emotional and not so logical. The very thought itself is not so strange, because we are living in an age of ‘be practical’, even though the entire question of being practical is not so practical! For some, wealth and for some others intelligence matters more. No one is bothered about character and humanity. Of course personality is more important than character here. Most of us are doing the right things for wrong reasons.

Image Source : commons.wikimedia.org

It is natural that human beings underestimate the value of a thing, which they will get in excess. Today’s generation is blessed with abundant love (May be fake or real, that’s a different question!). The sacredness of emotional things went far away from today’s society. Even real questions of life are not in a way to justify themselves. Men with richness, intelligence or any sort of power have respect in this society. Society plays a ‘Politics of Greatness’ around the abilities of human beings. This unique kind of politics dominates the world and prevented human beings from being human. Politics is all about power or capacities and it can and unmake many things. And not surprisingly, character and humanity are hardly considered as power or capacity.

Today social Medias, mainstream Medias and the entire society consider celebrities and their works and label them as best human beings in this earth (?). The very definition of humanity dies here. The ‘Politics of Greatness’ crushes the cry of humanity using a bright smile and tight heart! Recently Syrian refugee crisis witnessed a huge cry for humanity. Photo of a three year old child created stir in global politics. The whole humanity demanded a situation like this to wake up! Question here is whether humanity needs a reason to wake up? If it is so, it ceases to be humanity. It is just a ‘Politics of Greatness’ using the word humanity.

Until recently wealth, intelligence and all other power related things used as the tools of politics. Today politics is using the guard of fake humanity. It is not an attempt to blame politics. But the emerging trend of ‘Politics of Greatness’ expanding its spheres towards every aspect of human life. Greatness itself has fake elements in its very meaning. Power has its own limitations. If you are rich, you will try for more wealth accumulation. If you are intelligent you plan to achieve more smartness. If you have great physical power, you will try to be more fitness. But it is not the same case in humanity. There is no question of increasing or upgrading. There will be no question about the amount of humanity. If it is so, it is no longer humanity.

The unique ‘Politics of Greatness’ made humanity so complex that a normal human being can’t even think of it. But being human is not so complex; in fact it is the simplest task a human being ever performs. There is no burden of proving our humanity to someone. Humanity is doing the right thing for right reason and not searching for reasons and spectators.

KEERTHIRAJ (krj492@gmail.com)

·   Currently serving as a Faculty for International Relations and Political Science at Alliance University, Bangalore. 

     

   (This article was published in Central Chronicle newspaper on 21 January 2016)