2012 - The End Could Be A Start.......

Monday January 2, 2012

The end could be a start

Sambal On The Side

By Brenda Benedict

The writer has compiled a list of things that she’d like to see end.

HOW many of you watched the movie 2012 and came out shaking your heads in disbelief at its unconvincing finale?

No one? Just me?

You mean you actually bought the plot that a couple of the world’s biggest polluters – including a Kyoto Protocol non-signatory – would build arks to save some chosen 400,000 people? Yeah, right.

If anything, this apocalyptic adventure cast the much-discussed Dec 21, 2012 Mayan prophecy in a bad light.

Let’s face it. Mankind doesn’t need to wait the next 12 months to see what its wanton disregard for nature could unleash. We are no longer just observers of climate change; many of us are experiencing it. Well, maybe with the exception of those who had attended the Durban Conference on Climate Change last year who agreed to “adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, and no later than 2015”.

I mean, shouldn’t we be cutting carbon emissions like, now? But I digress.

I was inspired to write this instalment after Googling the aforementioned Mayan prophecy. Of the many interpretations available online, from magnetic pole reversals to Earth’s imminent collision with a planet named Nibiru, the one that resonated most with me was the least destructive – and what some claim was actually portended by the Mayans.

To quote a Carlos Barrios from the Eagle Clan of the Mam Maya of Guatemala: “The world will not end. It will be transformed. Everything will change. Change is accelerating now, and it will continue to accelerate. If the people of the earth can get to this 2012 date in good shape, without having destroyed too much of the Earth, we will rise to a new, higher level. But to get there we must transform enormously powerful forces that seek to block the way. Humanity will continue, but in a different way. Material structures will change. From this we will have the opportunity to be more human.”

Whether you see a kernel of truth to his words or dismiss them as hogwash, I think Barrios was spot-on about the “accelerating change” bit. The dramatic events of 2011 are testament to that, from the Arab Spring to the global Occupy Movement. Ordinary people came together to foster extraordinary change.

But as he correctly pointed out, the “powerful forces” that block the way to betterment should be transformed. I’d add that some things should simply end. So here’s my brief list of people or practices we could really do without this year – and ever after.

Pseudo-nationalists: Thankfully in 2011, the scales fell off the eyes of communities in parts of the world and they saw some of their leaders for who they actually were; shysters living off the fat of the land, yet purporting to have done it all for the love of the nation. I say let’s stop placing power in the hands of those who crave it merely to enrich themselves and their hangers on, while disregarding the actual concerns of their countrymen or the environment.

Brazen lying: What is worse than a lying leader is one who assumes that people actually buy his incredible yarns. While some populations remain incomprehensibly blinded by those blessed with the gift of rhetoric, it is comforting that others refuse to accept things at face value. Thanks to dedicated and independent media, fibs and cover-ups continue to be unearthed to the benefit of the common man.

Money politics: One need not say much. Yes, even pre-election campaign contributions can be considered bribes. Accepting it means you’re beholden to your backers. That could also mean being forced to close an eye, when your cronies royally mess up to the detriment of others.

Self-appointed spokespersons of God: Enough with “holy people” who tell others how to live or how to call God or who claim that He’s fine with the destruction of places of worship or the killing and maiming of innocents. Unfortunately kindergarten politics comes into play here too – this constant, “They started it first!” As the renowned pacifist Gandhi once said: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” Perhaps instead of proselytising, we should all start praying for the inner strength to forgive and move on.

This list could go on. Perhaps by changing our skewered values first, we can effectively deal with all the other pressing issues facing us. By taking these baby steps we might finally end the world as we’ve known it.

And hence, truly start anew.

Brenda Benedict is a Malaysian living in Frankfurt. She’s going to end her procrastination and start on her book.

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