I Have A Dream

Waise toh I have many dreams and aspirations, but the one I'm about to describe is among the more daring ones. It also has more to do with the world as a whole rather than with me personally.

Now then. Looking at the present condition of India and the world(terrorism, corruption, poverty, etc), it might seem easy - even natural, to believe that all this will continue the way it is; that no matter how much effort anyone puts, we cannot make any significant changes in a situation that's going from bad to worse. Even if you set about gathering all the facts and gave the matter some serious thought, chances are you might come to the same conclusion. It all seems like a hopelessly entangled ball of string.

But I don't see it that way. For me, the world is still a beautiful place. Yes, beautiful. I believe that if we as humans are foolish enough to spoil it, then we as humans are also wise enough and capable enough to rebuild, restore and re-purify it. I dream of a world without nuclear weapons and terrorists; without discrimination and bias. A world without pollution and environmental degradation. A place where every child has an education, every youth has a job and every family a home; where every individual is learning to tap into his/her physical, intellectual, and spiritual potential and become a productive part of society. Where criminals are being convicted without delay by courts that uphold justice and humanity rather than laws and legislation.

A world where education teaches us to live and create happiness, rather than to just survive and make money; where people are quickly running out of reasons to indulge in things like thievery, fraud, murder, rape, terrorism, and war. There's a lot more, but I can already imagine you saying "Oh come on! Stop being so..."- Unrealistic?Impractical?Childish?Naive? It's called optimism actually, and if you're rolling your eyes now, then you need a good dose of it.

In the past I was one of those people who make sad profound statements under the pretext of being 'realistic' and not pessimistic. But over the years I have learnt that seeing the good side and believing in it really does make things happen. But will it work in the collective lives all the people in the world? Will it help us climb out of the pit which we've dug for ourselves? Can we save the world with some Optimism? There are only two entities that can answer these questions. One is the ever advancing arrow of time. The other is us.

P.S.
1. The title is that of Martin Luther King's famous 1969 speech. I'd die to make that kind of difference he made in the world. Plagiarism is not my way of impressing people. I just borrowed a title.
2. I took the picture with my Nokia 6300 outside Thane railway station in Feb '08, around 7:40 AM.