There is one fact you can’t escape these days when you meet with people. Your conversation, small or marathon, is not going to be what you want it to be, about the nicer things in life (though they are getting more scarce by the day as the world goes from bad to worse) about things that could sooth you and make you forget, at lease for short bursts of time’ all the predicaments making your life a living hell and the like.
No the conversations or small talk are not going to be that nice. In fact, they are going to be about, what else, hard times! Economically hard times, socially hard times, psychologically hard times etc… Every one of us seems to be in search of that magic wand which once it’s waved every problem will just melt into the thin air.
Recently, many parts of the world are being ravaged by record heat and floods. With temperatures surging into a 120 plus degree Fahrenheit, and with cruel rains, storms and hurricanes you could imagine how people in those places are faring. May God be with them! Look, we’re talking here about the most advanced and also the richest countries on this planet.
Yes, if riches were enough to prevent countries and communities from everything and anything bad we wouldn’t have been subjected to all those extreme weather reports during evening newscasts. If only hardware muscle and the power to try to force others to fall in line when they are told to fall in line was enough to do away with all problems the sun wouldn’t have been so unforgiving.
But all the bulging coffers, all the trillions that sometimes are very mysteriously thrown around for all the wrong reasons all the current technological advances that are almost replacing mankind with machines have their limits.
In the old days there was this slogan which you saw all over the place which says something like, “We’ll Put Nature Under Our Control!” That was tough talk as tough talk could go. Yes, we tried to be ‘that tough!’ when it comes to standing up to nature’s dominance. But then even after all these years the jury is still out as to what came out of that.
But then this is a country which has faced some of the scariest and the most devastating drought and hunger. Millions have perished because nature hasn’t been so nice to us. Let me tell you a real story about this slogan which I might have already used.
A group of workers were heading home in a company bus after working hours when they were passing by Arat Kilo where everything has been happening for a century or so. (Would be alright to say Arat Kilo has been and is still the hub of slogans!) This slogan written in angry and menacing big red letters hung on one of those government structures. One worker who was unimpressed says under his breath something like “Is that so!”
Next morning he had to deal with the security people. Someone in that bus must have sung to them.
“He mocked the slogan.”
“What did he say?”
“He said ‘Is that so!’”
“Really! You heard him say that?”
“Yes; everyone in the bus heard him.”
“That good for nothing…”
But, of course, we never came anywhere close to taming nature to our like let alone control it. Climate change is perhaps one of the nastiest headaches of the humanity, wouldn’t you say? While we’re at it we hear that this climate change has been politicized so much so that it features in that 2030 plan of having one world one government.
The Davos elite are really trying to kick the world around and reshape it as they’d like to be. “You don’t own anything. Still you’ll be happy!” Isn’t that what they’re saying? Look, since there is so much confusion swirls around about this ‘one world government’ narrative someone would be blessed if they broke it down to us in ways we could understand; you know ‘One Word Government for Dummies’ sort of thing.
What I’m trying to say is seeing what goes around all around in many parts of the world we should be thankful for having not faced such extreme conditions, at least not yet. While there certainly would be exceptions especially when it comes to floods. God forbid and if the sun decides to pummel us with the rage that it’s doing to others it’d be fair to think it might come a game changer in all the wrong ways.
Yes, in such times of global chaos it is only logical to look inwards. Yes, with the rains never seeming to have stopped you’d be pardoned to ask yourself if the two rainy seasons have somewhat merged. Ha! Yes we, especially in the cities, are these days complaining about the chill while still many of us are seen out and about with the flimsiest T-shirts and shorts. Yes, indeed it’s one of those times to be thankful that nature hasn’t subjected us to the extreme weather conditions we’re seeing all over the place.
Much of the population is wading through rough waters especially economically. Added to this the breakdown of moral and, in fact, the loss of what we call the moral high ground is making our boats uncontrollable. So it’s not strange that most people try to talk to you about their ordeals.
The way we narrate our story we make it appear that everything is over for us and we are surviving on borrowed time. Something most of us fail to notice is that despite the magnitude of our problems and the severity of the storms swaying our boats all over the ocean there are some nicer things in life we tend to ignore.
Having others to whom we can tell our stories is a blessing many aren’t lucky enough to enjoy. Having a place whether we can go into and wrap ourselves in the warmness of heavy blankets is a blessing many aren’t enjoying. Waking up in the morning and, as they say, smelling the coffee is blessing many have lost. Having what we call some free time and indulge in some leisure activities is blessing in these times of worldwide chaos in almost every aspect of life.
Once in a while it’d be ‘healing’ to say, “Thanks!”
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY 23 JULY 2023