Taking the current situation in Afghanistan as a peg, any intelligent analyst of global events would be able to draw some far-reaching conclusions that would be quite rational. A conclusion can be deemed rational if it is based on historical antecedents without myopic or prejudicial analysis and judgment. Earliest conflicts in human history can be traced to territorial or land-related encroachment, usually by wandering or nomadic groups looking for pastures.
Behind encroachment on lands is the issue of hustling for natural resources, whereby groups with weapons of coercion usually become the aggressors. Despite cultural and language differences, aggression has its own culture and language which can be understood without an interpreter or mediator. Behind the aggressive and acquisitive temperament lies human vanity which gives impetus to the exploration of weapons of coercion and conquest. Occupational lifestyle can also give impetus to the acquisition of weapon of coercion to cow others.
Occupational lifestyle which demands wandering from one place to another usually requires possessing means of coping with the unexpected. Means of coping with unexpected encounters include weapons of coercion and the use of wit and cunning. Ancient Buddhist travelling monks developed judo and karate as weapons of self-defence. For other wandering or nomadic groups like the Moors of old, concealed daggers and poisoned arrows and bows became common personal accoutrements. Mass production of destructive weapons for warfare and conquest purposes came much later in history.
Historically, ancient Assyrians were the most dreaded and hated of all nations of antiquity, because of the unspeakable cruelties and agonies which their soldiers were noted for. Assyrian soldiers were not satisfied with conquering territories but took delight in skinning prisoners of war alive and cutting off their sex organs, just for the sadistic joy and pleasure. Ruthless military culture began with aggressive territorial conquests and proselytisation, then later as means of commerce and colonialism.
Spain in particular, among other European nations, was notorious for the sufferings and agonies brought upon the Jews and the Moors. The Black race suffered the worst forms of dehumanisation in the hands of supposedly superior White races. A study of atrocities committed by aggressive groups against other groups that they could prey upon, would be quite shocking. Questions to ask would include what accounts for man’s destructive aggressiveness, and if those who cause pains and agonies to others, do get away with their activities. It would not be enough to talk about Nemesis and Kama rather, it is imperative to understand their modus operandi.
The perplexing issues and challenges of life cannot be explained or appreciated without taking into account the operational mechanism of Nemesis or Karma, as well as the controversy about repeated life on Earth. We rarely have adequate idea about what magnanimity and grace contained in the opportunity provided for human salvation, individually and collectively. Neither do we know clearly the mechanism of the idiom that those who go by the sword, perish by it; for those who cause pains must bear pains to resolve imbalances.
Away from ancient times and atrocities committed by humans, perhaps out of vanity and ignorance, the present era has a duty to understand what lies behind current global insecurities and other challenges hard to deal with. The pillars or foundation provided by human vanity and ignorance must be dismantled, if we must have a better understanding of what lies behind current experiences. It would also require a good deal of humility rather than belligerence, to be able to work out a road map for a sustainable change for the better. Personal responsibility is a valid doctrine.
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) can serve as a peg for exploring the trends of current global experiences. As leader of the National Socialist Party in Germany, he became a dictator from 1934, and from membership of 7 persons in 1920, Hitler’s party became a titan. Elected into power in 1932, he destroyed all other political parties and changed the direction of his country in accordance with the Nazi creed. Having annexed Austria in 1938, he occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939 and then sought to invade Poland which resulted in World War II. Hitler committed suicide when faced by defeat. Nazi creed saw the Germans as “Called People” (Master race).
Despite controversies about how Hitler’s life ended and his worldview, current global experiences have been shaped by his role in modern history. Despite all controversies about how he died and what notes that he left behind, he was alleged to have predicted that the two leading religions of mankind (Christianity and Islam) would play leading roles in global instability and insecurity. He was also alleged to have predicted beginning of global and devastating judgement. Such records were destroyed, and part of his personal memoir Mein Kamf.
Among sketchy records that could be put together by researchers, there were allusions to three issues of global significance. The first was that the light arising from the Jewish nation was taken over by power merchants and abused. The second allusion pointed fingers at the “Support Light from Arabia” being used for holding the human mind hostage through dogmatism. Then a third allusion pointed towards the “German race as providing the light for the new era”. More significant in Hitler’s lamentations was an allusion to himself as “a Moses who would not reach the promised land”.
Whatever speculations that may arise from the enigmatic life and allusions of Adolf Hiller of Nazi German and the dream of a new world, a vital summary is that World Wars I and II marked a turning point in global history. Whether or not the New Global Light took off in Germany, the evidence is that “The Light Shineth in Darkness; and the Darkness Comprehended It Not”. Similarly, the fact that the light arising from the Jewish nation and the one from Arabia, have become instruments of division, gives a testimony that the Darkness holds humanity hostage.
It is a pity that religion should become a means of global insecurity rather than unity. The situation in Afghanistan is a clear evidence that religious dogmatism and intolerance fuel global insecurity. Rather than broaden the minds and world view of humans, politics and commerce have used religion as instruments of narrow-mindedness and vanity, creating divisions among humans.
Dr Amirize is a retired lecturer from the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.