A Lost Cause: The Cause and Effect of 'Causes'

Yes, we are living in a very 'Cause' world. Everyone's waking up to different issues around them, and everyone seems to be "picking up" their cause based on what's close to their hearts or maybe what they are led to believe. People have realised more than ever before that they have the power to change things. It's not like the older days where they hoped the government or a god-like-Gandhi-like figure or God Himself would change things. Today, even the common man can make a difference. Of course, it's largely our massive technological advancements, more than any other factor, that has brought us to this stage. I mean, we can learn about a revolution occurring in an obscure corner of Africa, and even support it, and heck even make a difference, heck even make a difference without moving our ass; that's the level of connectivity and information exchange we've achieved. Regimes are being overthrown like dozen a year, and a steady flow of inspirational victories continues to give us confidence in ourselves to change things. So much so that my Facebook almost seems like Change.org. All they need along with the 'like' button is a 'donate' button.

Which is great! It's great that there's so much awareness and active participation (if online is counted). It seems to be working! Changes seem to be happening! And at the rate we're going, and in the direction we're going in, in my opinion, NOTHING WILL CHANGE. In fact, if necessary tweaks aren't made, we'll make things infinitely worse. It's one of those moves which will in imminent time take us ten steps behind.

Why? There are many reasons why I think so. We 'adopt' a cause and at that very point, it becomes the biggest 'cause', largely because it's ours more than anything else. Similarly for the other person, it's his cause. But the fact remains, that in this world, everything is connected. A change here causes a change there. A fluctuation here maybe causes a tumult there. And with time there is inevitably bound to be a Clash of Causes somewhere. And here is where we seem to fail to see the larger picture and reach mutual understandings and make necessary shifts and compromises. It just goes downhill hereon, turning what started as a good initiative into a full-blown war driven by ego-trips. This is one aspect.

The other being, most of us don't seem to show any understanding of human nature and psyche. The tone of it all, in most cases, is too aggressive. Maybe this comes from the fact that our cause has become too close to our hearts and we start seeing things only in the context to protect it, and instinctively or let's say, emotionally we react too aggressively. It doesn't work. We can't change a person by condemning him, ridiculing his beliefs, publicly shaming him. Do you think the other person will objectively listen to you and rationally question himself? No. He will feel threatened and insulted. He will only intensify his stance. He will further amplify his actions just to get back at us. We just provided him a reason to. He will form groups to feel secure. He will now have a 'cause'. That's how it works. One thinks one is making a difference. But in all likelihood, one is just complicating things a lot more. And considering the highly connected times we're living in. where a hundred new causes are born every other day, this approach to change deserves a hard look. Else, we're headed only towards constant conflict.

While we deal with the existing conflicts, the first and foremost thing is we stop creating more conflicts merely due to our lack of maturity in rebellion or protests. In this regard, a basic step we must take is stop the excessive talking about issues. Technology and connectivity just makes them appear as though it's a widespread thing. And it eventually becomes a widespread thing, not in reality, but in people's minds; whereas if judiciously ignored most of these problems would have died a natural death. Or if maturely handled and acted upon instead, they would be solved.

Recent history is filled of instances of such stupidity. Islamophobia is one such thing. Five years ago, it didn't even occur to me if I was talking to a muslim or a non-muslim. A bearded man around was a regular thing. In spite of the fact that India was a victim of terrorism, I think there was a maturity in India in dealing with it. And then suddenly, everyone just started talked about it all the time. Pro or against, the talking about it was too much. Everything became just a debate, while there was no need of debate. What's there to debate! It just needed action. Mature action. Whereas today, I can only sense a discomfort in myself and the muslims around me. A mere interaction with them brings to mind all those unnecessary debates on TV and social media, ruining the possibility of a perfectly normal conversation. It is either too judgmental or too safe lest we hurt the other.

A hundred other things are waiting to become epidemics not on their own merit but just due to exposing the rot to all of them instead of dealing with it in the bud. We are planting doubts in people's heads with constant talking and reminding. I know, conventional wisdom says awareness needs to be spread and things need to be talked about. But it is not about a bacteria or a need for A+ blood group we are talking about. We are talking about a human problem involving another human who is just equally capable like us. And here is where it is backfiring, and we need to rethink our approach.

And the most important thing, if one is genuinely concerned about their cause, is action. Take for instance the entire demonetisation fiasco. Now let's look at it from an outsider's point of view. Let's say a cat's point of view who's not as passionately involved in it as us. The cat would have seen the note-ban happen. And naturally it was the talk of the town. It was such a big move, and it impacted our daily lives. Some thought it would work, some thought it wouldn't. Even I enjoyed discussing it with people around and it was, in a way, exciting. But then things started to take a turn for the worse. We just over did it. All kinds of articles talking all kinds of possibilities, endless debates, accusations, misunderstandings, theories, the division of the country happened, in a strange way. It had transcended from a natural curiosity to a laboured unconscious entertainment in the name of change. Brands cashed in. Trollers had a gala time. And a whole lot of tamasha.

The outcome of it all? Zero. Not one protest on the streets, not any solutions, only sitting on the chair and cribbing while the government went ahead and continued doing what it wanted. What's funny is, on social media people tend to talk to their friends who are very likely to be of the same mentality. So it was like closed groups having conversations where they all agree anyways. To the cat, it would have all seemed a joke! It would have seemed a waste of time. The cat would have spotted in an instant that deep down, to most of us, it didn't really mean a thing. It was all entertainment. Makes me wonder if Facebook really had a 'donate' button, by how much would its membership dip?

It's all fine. A bit of fun did no one no harm. But unfortunately, I think we as a generation have reached such a point that we can't afford to pass around judgments in public casually. We no longer have the luxury to diss things sheerly out of boredom and joblessness. Because it's all too sensitive these days, And in such a tense scenario, you publicly pass judgments only if you are ready to back it up with action. Because the excess of it is starting to affect those countless who are actually striving for their 'cause'. Because all of this is just becoming a trend. And trends are cyclical. And if we just talk about it all the time and see no change happen, with time it will naturally lead to the other end of the cycle, which is extreme apathy. Where more horrible things can happen, and no one will care to talk about it.

And even if were to be slightly more serious about our causes, there's this aspect of us being a spoilt generation. And we think by talking and sharing things on Facebook, we are doing our bit. It just makes us delude we are doing something, but at some point there has to genuine effort and time invested if we're serious about it. I have come to realise there is no substitute to it. Because cleaning things up needs some one at some stage to do the dirty work. It's not magic that we press a button and it's done. I know our food delivery apps make it seem so, that we press a button, and our food gets delivered; but the ugly side to it is somewhere a food delivery guy is riding like a maniac and breaking traffic signals to get there on time.

Talking more about action, we are also failing to show a thorough understanding of the 'cause' that's dear to us. It's all so complex and interconnected, we don't know where it fits in the scheme of things, where the root issues are and how to go about it. But for a problem to really disappear, it needs to be addressed at the core. Else it's a matter of time it will come back.

Which brings me to my final worry. On which rests this entire thing. All of this, is happening in a highly competitive economic structure. Which essentially means, one gains when other loses. It's like the law of conservation of energy - Wealth can neither be created nor destroyed; only transferred. When this is the scene, how in this world will there be no conflict? And I think it's at this fundamental level, if things aren't shaken up, it's a lost 'cause'.

Well, I have spoken about it when deemed necessary, now need to see if I can back it up with some action. But honestly, it seems so daunting, that I'm actually hoping for a god-like-Gandhi-like-figure to come to our rescue.