Big Barriers

Krithika Karthikeyan, Young Contributor
Sunday, August 25, 2019

“In the time of crisis, the wise build bridges when the fools build barriers”- T’Challa, Black Panther.

We all love fighting. Who are you kidding? We literally spend our time in front of GTA or a fancy Boxing game or an action movie where the heroes punch the villain in the face. But, get this: is it actually ‘fun’ to watch countries punch each other in the face? I don’t want to take names, but throughout history, countries have fought with each other over petty matters. From conquering lands to ‘who gets the cupcake’ fights. We are so obsessed with having power in our hands that we don’t see that we are all humans!

There are 8 million species in the world, and humans are the biggest species. If we actually understand that we are only 1 type of people in the 8 million in the world, we can actually make a difference! Who knows, one day, there might be an alien or other different specie invasion on Earth. And they might be very strong. So, if that time, we are stuck throwing nuclear bombs or shotguns and whatnot on each other, then survival chance: nil.

After you read this article, think about it closely. What do we fight for? For power? For respect and honor? For vulnerability? Is throwing a nuclear war going to achieve you anything except destruction? Does everything change when you nuclearize? Does everyone treat you like the king (or queen) of the universe? Is taking the life of millions of people of the same specie as you really worth it? Are wars going to change the crisis atmosphere that we have now? Are trees going to grow and will people find a cure for every disease on the planet? I don’t think so.

Then why waste the limited resources that Earth has now? I don’t see the math on that one. If you want to prove that you are strong and have an undefeated army, try stopping the conflicts. It might actually work.

Humans build big barriers between ourselves. We want to be the most powerful person in the world so that everyone stays out of your way. We give an excuse of religion, gender, disputes which happened a century ago and begin a war for no relevant reason at all. Wars just increase destruction, and as you know, our buildings aren’t made of Lego. We can’t re-build everything fast and still have time to eat chips. So nuclear war, weapons war, every senseless fight on this Earth should stop.

So the fools build barriers. We got that one. But, when the fools build barriers, are the wise just supposed to sit and wait for something bad to happen? What can we do to stop the unnecessary sadistic fights? Speak up.

I truly believe in the fact that ‘if you speak up, anything can happen’. Even this has happened in history. We got independence because the Congress decided to speak up. Kuwait got independence because the citizens decided to speak up. Loads of problems and faults have been corrected by speaking up to the authorities. Then why can’t these war problems be solved?

There will come a time when everyone of us have to pick a side. Our country or our friends? This question arises in school also. I once had to choose to support my friend or my house for an in-school competition. I ended up supporting my friend, because houses have no actual purpose beyond competitions. Houses are just a mere excuse for in-school competitions. Some of my classmates take the houses scheme too far and construct a wall between our friendships. I had to explain to my classmates (with quite difficulty, I will add) that houses are nothing but a scheme for competitions. ‘Houses can’t be obstacles between friendships’ I said, and explained it to them, and now, our friendship is inseparable. This is basically a mini-version of what is happening in the world right now (exclude the explaining part), and the root cause of wars.

I would like to end my article with a quote. “We know that more connects us than separates us” (another quote from Black Panther). If the authorities actually understand what this quote tries to tell us, Earth has already become a better place to live in. And it should.
Thank You.

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Krithika Karthikeyan
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