Youth Can Move The World, Won't They?
By Dr. A. K. Merchant
06 January, 2014
Countercurrents.org
With the advent of first millennium teenagers--a new breed of tech savvy and challenging kids--there is new wind blowing. Glued to their gizmos, cell-phones, laptops and brands they are sure of what they want and know how to get it. With 50% of the country’s 1.2 billion people below 25 years of age a change in attitude and understanding of present-day reality of these future citizens will help India reap its demographic dividends.
Confronting the popular views that this age is fraught with confusion and crises many would tend to agree that the potential inherent in them could actually arouse in them “an acute sense of justice, eagerness to learn about the universe and a desire to contribute to the construction of a better world.” As a result, the feelings of uncertainty and doubt would give way to true friendship, a spirit of camaraderie, empathy and willingness to support each other both in deepening one’s understanding of the true purpose of life and future direction.
Earthmen landing on the moon have perceived what poets, sages, philosophers and prophets have proclaimed centuries, nay, thousands of years ago – “Vasudhaiva kutumbakkam” (the world is family). “The view of the earth from the moon fascinated me—a small disk, 240,000 miles away,” reported an astronaut. “It was hard to think that that little thing held so many problems, so many frustrations. Raging nationalistic interests, famines, wars, pestilence don’t show from that distance. I’m convinced that some wayward stranger would certainly know instinctively that if the earth were inhabited, then the destinies of all who lived on it must be inevitably interwoven and joined. We are one hunk of ground, water, air, clouds, floating around in space. From out there it really is one world.” The UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon puts it aptly: “All of us who believe in fostering a culture of peace and non-violence have to spread the word among people who we know and to those who we have never met. We have to multiply our efforts through social media. And we have to be relentless in standing for our values—peace, human rights and respect for all people. We must connect the dots between climate change, water security, energy shortage, global health, food security and women’s empowerment. Solutions to one problem must be solutions for all.”
Such an awareness covers a wide spectrum namely quality of air and water, soil erosion and degradation of land for agriculture and other purposes. We must start perceiving diversity and cultural differences as a potential resource that we can tap and cultivate further. We must realize that ‘my culture’ is not better than ‘your culture’ by definition, but equally complex and equally worthy.
A recent survey of the world conditions appeals for “a complete reconceptualization of the relationships that sustain society. The deepening environmental crisis, driven by a system that condones the pillage of natural resources to satisfy an insatiable thirst for more, suggests how entirely inadequate is the present conception of humanity’s relationship with nature; the deterioration of the home environment, with the accompanying rise in the systematic exploitation of women and children worldwide, makes clear how pervasive are the misbegotten notions that define relations within the family unit; the persistence of despotism, on the one hand, and the increasing disregard for authority, on the other, reveal how unsatisfactory to a maturing humanity is the current relationship between the individual and the institutions of society; the concentration of material wealth in the hands of a minority of the world’s population gives an indication of how fundamentally ill-conceived are relationships among the many sectors of what is now an emerging global community.” The unfettered cultivation of needs and wants has led to a system fully dependent on excessive consumption for a privileged few, while reinforcing exclusion, poverty and inequality, for the majority. Each successive global crisis—be it climate, energy, food, water, disease, financial collapse-- has revealed new dimensions of the exploitation and oppression inherent in the current patterns of consumption and production. Stark are the contrasts between the consumption of luxuries and the cost of provision of basic needs: basic education for all would cost US$ 10 billion; yet $82 billion is spent annually on cigarettes in the United States alone. The eradication of world hunger would cost $30 billion whilst some $92 billion are spent in the United States for combating obesity; water and sanitation--$10 billion, i.e. as reported by the UN Department of Public Information, “the estimated cost of closing the gap between current trends and what is needed to meet the target ranged from $10 billion to $18 billion per year.” By comparison, the world’s military budget, unaffected by recession, has risen to $1.70 trillion in 2012 of which approximately 45% is by the United States.
In an age consumed by self-interest, the grown-ups have a tremendous responsibility of assisting these youngsters "upon whom the sights of an aggressive materialism are decidedly trained" to more fully realize the immense collective capacity for service to humanity with which they are endowed. Who entering into the prime of their lives must “steel themselves for a life of service” to humanity. To this end the worldwide Bahá’í community recently hosted 114 youth conferences focusing their attention on five themes “The Period of Youth”; “Early Adolescence”; Fostering Mutual Support and Assistance”; “Youth and Community Building”; “Contributing to the Advancement of Civilization”. Sitting on the edge of a confused society today’s youth suffer from emotional and behavioural problems. Most of them have no clue of the stark realities of gender inequality, unemployment and poverty. On the other hand, were they to realize that society is a living organism and all parts grow and change through interaction with others doors would open for new types of healthy and meaningful relationships. In their search for their own spiritual orientation these teenagers cannot revert to an earlier time, for it is their generation that must address the challenges of globalization. The accelerating tempo of quickening intellectual awareness, coupled with the gathering and merging of the world’s diverse and separate cultures, is calling for a response, perhaps never thought of before.
The average age opening of networking accounts in urban centres is 13. Some 86% of their free time is spent on Facebook; 45% use smart phones for internet access. Cyber space has set them unrealistic goals in life, as it divorces them from reality and the struggles of life. Everything is as easy as it is in the virtual world, just a click away. When they fail, it causes depression, aggression and breakdown in relationships. The breakdown of old patterns of living are opening the way for an emerging new social order accompanied by changes in values, with some traditional values being modified or discarded. Therefore, education both in the home and the institutions of learning must provide opportunities for them to move away from dreamy fantasies and discover more satisfying interpretations. In the words of Richard St. Barbe Baker, “Man of Trees” and a great visionary, “At the moment the real issue facing the world is not whether this or that political system survives, it is not merely a question of maintaining a national status quo. The real challenge is to humanity as a whole. Are we fit to live? Are we fit to exist on the earth? Can we unite to stem the oncoming tide of destruction which, by our folly, we have let loose on ourselves? The answer to these questions will decide the future of our race—the human race. The tasks which confront us are sufficiently great in themselves to need the thoughtful and concerted action of every country on this globe. Erosion must be checked; oncoming deserts must be stopped. Air and water pollution must be stopped. Land must be made fertile again with the help of trees of mixed species, and the earth once again be clothed in a green mantle of trees. The balance of nature must be restored....” For, today’s youngsters can surely move civilization, as we know it, away from materialism, violence and domination to a higher level--non-materialistic, just, eco-friendly, and peaceful. Ceaseless endeavour, a powerful quality in the young, is required.
The author is the National Trustee of Lotus Temple & Bahá’í community of India; Chairperson, Sarvodaya International Trust—Delhi Chapter; Associate Secretary General of Global Warming Reduction Centre. He can be contacted via cell phone: +9810441360 or email [email protected]. Mailing address: S – 28, Greater Kailash Part I, New Delhi 110 048, India
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