In the past few months, we have seen wars and during this time we scrolled past tons of headlines i.e. ‘Iran-Israel: Failure or Success of Defence System!’ India-Pakistan: Drone capabilities’ ‘West vs. East!’ The focus? It’s not the devastated or the shattered families, their houses but technological efficiency. French Rafael shot down by Chinese jets, drone interception rates, or the capability of Iron Dome. Human cost? Multiplied by zero. This isn’t just a failure of reporting but an unsettling shift.
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Countless lives have been expended in ‘higher’ causes.
We have always known that some human lives are expendable in order to serve the bigger picture (like nationalism, religious sentiments etc. That’s a beautiful lie, but let’s feed the not so important beings). These are lives of people who have not signed up to participate in conflicts; most of the time, they have not even been consulted about the causes in which their lives have been deemed expendable.
People are increasingly viewed as ‘units, a mere commodity.’
We see in the movies, few masked individuals are in the bank for the sake of robbery. They have guns and every living being in there is now their hostage. Every institution, every personnel even the 'Great Leader’ is concerned for their safety. Police/military is ready to provide any facility they ask for and by the climax, everyone is safe now. Clapping! Long Live the Leader! Long Live the Humanity!
Where did the core go? Did all these chants of humanity, morality ever truly hold universal sway? History suggests not. There was slavery, exploitation, draconian law–these horrors existed long before the Indus Civilization. Yet, what feels unique now is the systemic, almost unconscious nature of the devaluation. We have learned to see people abstractly, as some sort of problem to be solved, or resources to be managed. We build emotional firewalls.
We tell ourselves stories in order to live… We look for the sermon in the suicide, for the social or moral lesson in the murder of five. We interpret what we see, select the most workable of the multiple choices. We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images, by the ‘ideas’ with which we have learned to freeze the shifting phantasmagoria which is our actual experience. –Joan Didion
The question isn’t just about the lost value of life, but what we lose within ourselves. When we accept the narrative that prioritizes machine over man, efficiency over empathy, we remove something fundamental to our own humanity. Reclaim the inherent value of a single, irreplaceable human life. Because, humans are not expendables!
So, the next time a conflict breaks out, ask, “Where are the people?” “What silent auction of souls is happening behind the headlines?” Lighten up the humanity residing inside you.
Who's to say that my light is better than your darkness?
Flowers for Algernon