‘Where they burn books, there they won’t shy from burning people’.

Everyone dreads change, and people will go too great extends to avoid it. However they try they have to change, that the irony, the things they do to avoid change is change in itself. Especially we see that cultures and religions do not want to adapt.  Mostly cultures in homo-sapiens are passed from one generation to another. A new generation comes with change in thought; and technology brings in new ideas. With this new ideas and thoughts there is always a clash with the older generation. The new generation will win eventually when the older dies. However they are then confronted with the next generation of thoughts. It is a never ending cycle.

The problem as I see is that we are trained culturally to follow rather than think. Even so, in most cultures whatever knowledge that is there is not freely available for following. You need to be in a certain sect or cast to have access to this knowledge. Common examples are bhramins in India or priest in the western country. There is this fundamental problem in following, that cultures where formed so that knowledge could be passed from one generation to another. But not all could access it.

In the last 50 years we have seen the world getting more connected. Information passes from one end of the world to the other in matter of seconds. New discoveries adopted and assimilated very quickly today.  Since world war 2 the world has become a more free thinking world. But some cultures still do not want to change. They oppress men, women and eventually progress in their region. In the name of culture or religion, free thought is not allowed, your opinions do not matter and violence is preferred over fair debate. In most cases it is one person whose philosophy is followed by a bunch of followers since most do not want or lack the knowledge to form their own opinion. Then again we have been brought up to follow the system and not question it. Most parents teach their children to follow their culture and not question it, if questioned the all you hear in counter is that it has been this way for generations. Hence most of us seek leaders and gurus whom we can follow, we don’t want to come to conclusions ourselves.

I have seen this happen in most political scenarios, if you question the logic of a leader. They will start with a debate on it. If they have the slightest feeling that you might be right, they won’t change their opinion. But call you name and try to prove how you are not a credible person or how your character or personality is immoral. If their agenda still threatened by your ideology, they will resort to violence.  In most cases such leaders gain mass following not because they want to bring in change but are opposed to change that is happening and want to prevent it. Hence political parties can gain mileage by making religion, language or culture as their agenda.

Most political party agendas are based on vote politics and not progress. However it works that in every personal hidden agenda every voter wants and needs some visible progress. But political party formed on philosophies of saving culture and religion rarely do good to the country and humanity at large. Mainly because any opinion; other than the main leaders opinion is met with violence. I would like to restate Heinrich Heine [ Almansor: A Tragedy (1823)],’where they burn books, there they won’t shy from burning people’.

Cheers,

Ninad Dighe.