Wanderlust In Thoughtspace

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Fear in Heart and Tongue in Cheek

The following is a piece I wrote during my junior year at Trinity College.


I bow my head in humble obeisance to the all powerful, all merciful, protector of the universe – Omnipotent and Omnipresent and Omniscient.

The powerful being that is able to deliver infinite justice and enduring freedom! The being that needs my respect, and demands it! I fear the wrath of this divine being and pray for my deliverance. The being that I can only reach by sincere supplication and even then all I can do is hope for my message to get across after waiting in interminable queues of similar supplicants[1]. If I place my complete unconditional faith in this being and accept all its impositions, I can make it to the land of the being - a paradise where I am promised heavenly recompense - a way of life full of food, drink and liberal sex.

The being that decides what is wrong and what is right. The being that will determine the fate of all humanity on judgment day.

The being that justifies the killing of all non believers - the kafirs (If you are not with us, you are with them (the evil)!) If I so much as murmur my protest about the beings authoritarianism, I fear that the being's beneficent hand will cease to protect me, and might in fact even chasten me, punish me or destroy me - or may be just neglect my very existence and deprive me of the benefits that the privileged believers enjoy.

Am I an overly radical Muslim talking of Allah?
Or am I an overly subservient world citizen talking of the US?

May be Allah will truly protect the radical Muslim.
Or may be the US will truly protect world citizen.
Oops, have I offended the Muslims?
Or have I offended the Americans?

I am truly sorry. Please do not be retributive. I do fear damnation – whether it be in the form of the fires of hell, or in the form of premature deportation.

***
Actually my views are far more complicated and involved than what is evinced by the piece above which obviously was an attempt at humor through satire. Almost every time the US acts internationally, I feel that the action could be at least partially justified. I may disagree with the manner of the action and the extent of the action, but I have rarely had any qualms about the need for action. However, the US is somewhat like an unpleasant self appointed Police Force. While the policing should be welcome, unfortunately, it is hard for self respecting citizens of sovereign nations to accept this role of the US. I feel humbled, powerless and insignificant as most elected governments around the world can do little but dance to the tunes of the US. Even if the dance is beneficial (which is a matter of debate, I guess), it is hard to swallow national pride.
****

[1] The interminable queues could refer to the thousands of Islamic terrorists dying to go on a suicide mission for the sake of Islam (and please do not notice any pun in this sentence). Or they could refer to the queues of all US visa aspirants outside US consular offices all over the developing world.

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