How we can become intolerant towards events such as WTC, Manila, Mumbai, Paris and stop them.

Today I was at home due to a bad cold and cough. And the children took full advantage of my availability in getting some of their errands and assignments done. One such assignment was writing a 200 words article on 'Growing Intolerance.' We looked at various events happening around us and I urged them to not to write on the events but on why it may be happening. And since 'Charity Begins at Home' I suggested let us look at our own behaviours and thinking  and see if we can find an answer by extrapolating to a larger society, since the family is the basic unit of the society. To my surprise, they immediately jumped on me.  Having a bad cold and cough is quite irritating and I wanted some peace at home. Currently have Diwali/Deepavali holidays and since morning the TV as well as all the gadgets - mobile, tablets, computers - are also on. Further both of them are fighting like cat and dog the whole day. Hence I imposed a curfew - the mobile, tablet and TV remote were hidden and I hijacked the computer for working from home. So they made this into an article of how a parents' intolerance towards the new generation children is an example of larger societal intolerance on various issues.

Period.

I thought, hey, this is an interesting idea. They wanted to know whether attacks in Paris and Mumbai and earlier in US etc can also be termed as 'acts of intolerance?' In a way they are. But at this scale and in a sustained way across the globe? What is feeding this sustained global enterprise of terror? Alongside the latest event in Paris, the G20 meet was also happening in Europe and I read how the world leaders have committed to 'suffocate' terror activities by not allowing funding to these terrorist 'organisations.' A good one. But will such suffocation work? Many years ago, when I was in school, I had once read how the then British PM Mrs. Margaret Thatcher wanted people to ignore such terrorist activities so that they will be deprived of the 'oxygen of publicity' and once these 'terrorists' realise that no one bothers with them, they will disappear. Of course that idea did not work. But yet the question remains. How can such huge global scale terror operations thrive and even increase so fast? From where they do such people acquire the skills, the arms, the people and funds? I was reminded of a comic book story from the Tintin series where two neighbouring countries are fighting and the fight is being sponsored by a 'salesman' of a arms manufacturing company!

I found this idea plausible. Once again I was reminded of an interesting seminar held at IIMA some years ago. A famous professor from Oxford who had done extensive research at the US Congressional Library about US war strategies had presented an interesting seminar on why the US was afraid of China. Therein he had outlined the fact that a huge number of people in the US are employed in the defense and allied industries. I started surfing the internet for data. I got some startling figures. (e.g. Please see https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Robert-Reich/2010/0813/America-s-biggest-jobs-program-The-US-military) The article also hints about the might and the clout of these industrialists. If this industry is controlled or jobs curtailed it immediately affects the employment/unemployment figures adversely and affects the political career of the US President/State Governors!

Hence it is simple. The arms and machines that are produced needs to be sold. While a great amount of small arms are sold domestically and almost all homes have some fire-arm, the major big ones are sold to other countries and even to terror organisations. Selling to countries is not easy. Since this involves huge amounts of money and commitment, it is always routed through that country's parliament, cabinet, committees etc which involves a lot of time and processes, perhaps even corruption.  (Remember Bofors?) But back there at the factories which produce these machines, the factory owners need to give their employees the salaries in time, settle the utility bills and taxes and loans also in time. Hence they need to clear off stuff faster. I have been in Sales jobs for many years and I can very well understand this pressure. There are targets and more targets. And then Salesmen come in all varieties. 'The Good, Bad and Ugly.' Arms smuggling is a very tempting and extremely lucrative option. I remember one more interesting article I had read about 20 years ago. I was giving a test in English comprehension during my seminary days. And the article on which I had to answer the questions was a product of an investigative journalism on how the US was sponsoring the war between Iran and Iraq those days by supplying ammunition (covertly) to both the parties.

Hence suffocating the terror outfits by controlling their access to funds is not enough. Much more will have to be done. Of course we will also have to look at more deeper and fundamental issues also such as why and how did such a phenomenon come about in the first place? We hear of such groups right from the Biblical times and even earlier in other parts of the world such as in India. (e.g. a current tele-serial on the Colours channel show the story of Emperor Ashoka the Great. The current episodes show a young Ashoka as a mutineer named 'Agradoot' who is fighting his own brother - the provisional king- to help provide justice and offset wrong doing. The period shown is just after Alexander the Great's invasion in India.) But the modern day terror outfits are huge, highly professional, well funded and heavily armed and driven by people who are extremely focused and passionate about killing. And it is operated on a global scale. Hence money and machines alone are not involved. A lot of other things are there.

Perhaps we may feel that this is not sustainable. One can say: 'Don't worry. Perhaps in the overall plan of God, such things may be destined and are perhaps part of our 'growing up pains.'' I doubt it.  It looks like we all have been bought into the idea of terror. The de-sensitisation is now almost normal, even looks natural. It is not only events such as WTC, Mumbai or Paris that is happening - which does contribute to a temporary communal shock - but mind numbing killings happen every day. Like how small children and youngsters are killing innocent people in schools and other public places almost on a daily basis somewhere or the other. How come? Because guns are available easily? Even knives and other things which are quite common to households can be used. There must be something else. Something which has caused us all to accept such things as normal. Something which is being done daily so much and at such a scale that it has become a natural phenomenon. Something which is making the saying 'a lie told many times make it look true.' (Sorry for the crude version.)

What is this lie? How is it being told? How did it come about? Just look at our modern culture. Our children are not going out of the homes and playing in the open. (The great Nelson who had defeated Napolean had said that he had learned his skills on the fields of Eton.) Our modern day children are playing computer games which kill. And the one which kills in the most horrible way are the most popular. Our daily newspapers devote a large amount of space - sometimes the best space - to promote the most violent computer games. If we go out to buy toys the most popular toys are super heroes and guns and fast moving machines. Recently we celebrated the festival of Diwali/Deepavali. The most popular toy was the gun/pistol to help fire the 'tikdi' (as known as in Ahmedabad.) This has become very normal. We ourselves bought a small plastic pistol as a gift for our nephew. The evolution of the plastic industry and China's manufacturing prowess has made it very easy to pervade the entire environment with such toys.

I am sorry, this has become a very large article. The huge problem of terrorism looks insurmountable and a task for the police, the Government and the leaders. No. As mentioned earlier, 'Charity Begins at Home.' Let us contribute with baby steps. Let us start saying no to the 'Trojan Horse' in our own homes. Let us stop watching such tele-serials on our TV sets at home and stop downloading and/or buying such computer games for our children. Let us start sensitising our children and the schools and the parents of our childrens' friends on this. Slowly but surely it will happen. Simultaneously we also must start questioning and asking our Government and the administrators about the policies and process employed in distribution of power and resources. We must speak out against unfairness and unequal distribution. It can be applied to corporate/private sector too. Huge and unreasonable executive pay is one example. Diversion of national resources is another. Remember, evil exists not because the bad are powerful, but because the good are silent. Let us be really really intolerant of evil and violence. Amen.