“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

True. And good men. That is a term that comes to renewed introspection each and every time some such act is witnessed. Be it in the realm of fiction, or more so when they are the infallible truth. Of course, the latter course always remains more etched, but I would go with fiction in the same breath. Because I believe that what most people dismiss as the ideal, is something more real than what is prescribed by reality. Because when we dabble in what could be done in a particular situation, in a particular way that is right, only then do we know what was not done in that same real situation and what could be done the next time. To convince ourselves that the ideal is always an unattainable untruth and that we are condemned to remain in a tragic reality is something that always keeps the glass half empty.

But then, do we realise that at that very moment, when we shun away the ideal, we do also lift the line on what is good and what is bad. Because the good will always remain an ideal. The good will forever be lost in obscurity. And like the bad-penny realist, we will always come to grips with the term that everything is grey. We can change colours, but we can never really change our mindset now can we?

But I also do admit that being an idealist is difficult. Because when we try to convince others of the utopia that we so badly think is necessary, we necessarily become lanterns that need to light the road for others. And to burn oneself all the time is indeed a painful task. Much rather be the people who just want the light to go to where we want to go. Or better still forget everything and stay rooted to the same spot like an inanimate object.

And the reality does teach us how to come to grips with mostly everything. Even so that when we actually see some good thing happening, we coolly declare, “God did it!” But hold the phone just one second here – did God not send a human being to do what He wanted to do? Didn’t God ask Noah to save mankind from the great flood? Did not God ask Moses to help his flock cross the Red Sea and save themselves from Genocide? Did not God send down the Pandavas to clean up the mess on the earth? Who were these people? God’s chosen ones I suppose… And what if they said, “Fuck you, I’m going to do my own thing. I give a damn about the rest!” But they didn’t, did they? After all that long speech and rhetoric about ‘free will’, do you expect a sinner like me to believe that they had no say in the matter?

I just presume that they realised what was right and what was wrong. They found the line. And they did it. Oskar Schindler. He’s the man. Take him as an example. Or maybe even the Bielski brother. What in the name of your so called sitting on a cloud with a harp in his hand God did they have going on in their head? Why on earth did they do what they did? I don’t believe they ever went to sit on Mt Sinai. I don’t believe they were given a management speech by Lord Krishna. I don’t believe they found the voice of God beating about the bush in their heads. No, I believe that they did it because they knew what was right and what was wrong. And they decided that the right would lead them to one thing and the wrong to a deepening worse.

And it is the right in this reality that leads us to utopia, an ideal world. You may say I am a dreamer, but I hope I am not the only one. And only if you join me, only then can the world live as one. Else we will all want a bigger share of the apple pie. I know that nothing that is going on today is even remotely pointing to the fact that the world is ever going to live as one, but either we decide to bite the bullet and get on with nothing, or we try and see how we can have a better tomorrow. For that too we have to bite the bullet, but not to digest it, to chew through it, and keep chewing it like gum. When the taste dissolves off, then we spit it out and put in another. We need to keep working at it. No miracle is going to happen. Nobody will play the harp from above. Let’s just give a damn and I am sure that we can get somewhere with this whole thing.

Why am I giving his huge speech? What made me rut off like that? I watched Tears of the Sun. And I realised that it is time we give a damn instead of just following what we are told and what we already know. If you think you want to join the millions like me, you can watch it to. Else just watch it for Bruce Willis and Monica Belluci, and also for the fascinating music by Hans Zimmer.

It’s just a thought.