The Noise, The Pressure, and the Forgotten Human Spirit
Jani Viswanath (PhD)
I usually don’t have much difficulty with words., But when I wanted to write something for this issue, I stared long and hard at the blank screen with a zillion thoughts and words in my mind, yet unable to frame them properly….
The only sentence that kept recurring in my head was, “what are you going to say that the world hasn’t heard before and how are you even going to attempt to get through to a race, bombarded with overwhelming noise every single minute of their lives?”
And without any rational explanation, a video that my friend sent me some time ago crossed my mind. It was a real footage from a CCTV of a convenience store in Texas of about 90 seconds. A slightly bent petite frail old woman in a worn-out dress that reached her ankles and a sweater a tad too big was ambling slowly to the counter with a few things. She put a small carton of milk, bread, few bananas on the counter and the man behind it proceeded to bill it.
He put the goods in a bag and placed it in front of her patiently waiting while she opened an old, frayed purse and peering closely inside, counted some change with shaky hands. At that very moment, the door burst open and a young man in a hoodie rushed in with a gun in his hand. Pointing the gun at the cashier, he shouted something and the cashier, without any resistance, emptied the till, put the money in a bag and handed it over.
In these few seconds, the young man with the gun casually glanced at the old woman and tipped his left hand in a small salute. The old woman momentarily paralyzed in shock, met his gaze and said in a feeble voice, “Son, this is all I have,” and with trembling hands handed over her frayed purse to him.
The young man took the old purse and looked inside curiously. He then looked at her directly for a few seconds, reached out and gently kissed her on her forehead. Pulling out a few notes from the bag, he put it in her hand and said, ‘Gran, I don’t want your money. Please keep this,” and ran out as fast as he rushed in.
I couldn’t help the tears rolling down my cheeks slowly. I couldn’t help feeling sympathetic to him and wishing that the cops would not be able to catch him in spite of the evidence they had, I couldn’t help feeling that we, as a race have failed the youth. Yes, he was stealing, but there seemed to be an inherent goodness in his spontaneous reaction to the old woman which told me that he was brought up with kindness and love. Maybe the theft was an act of sheer desperation for a problem he did not know any other way around.
An old African proverb “A child that is neglected by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” Couldn’t be more apt. We are collectively responsible for shaping up the new generation and we cannot throw this on them.
The sinner is within each one of us and so is the saviour. The full circle, right from school, to work to married life, is fraught with expectations, comparisons and constant pressure to be better.
Society is unforgiving, ruthless and incapable of even the patience to understand youth. We have created a system that rewards selfishness, self-obsessiveness and arrogance mistaken for confidence.
We have created idols and influencers of youth who, themselves pumped up with cosmetic enhancements and filters, parade unrealistic goals of self-esteem and development and get rewarded with adulation and financial success however fleeting it may be.
The lack of real opportunities to make a decent living, the persisting numbness with the social bombardment and the loneliness that creeps in because the youth constantly portray an illusionary, pretentious hollow life, leave them vulnerable and fragile inside.
It is unfortunate that we have convinced ourselves that evolution means a better lifestyle, better comforts, better technology, without remembering that evolution is actually inside out.
It’s still not too late for the road to redemption. We can pause the clock and turn things around if we passionately seek to make the change.
Life is all about making choices. Each choice shapes our collective destiny and our choice to support and empower our youth through these challenging, chaotic times will shape theirs.
The power to choose lies within, and every decision, no matter how small or big, can either lift you up or bring you down.
Let us choose wisely and refuse to be led like sheeple on a path we neither desire nor agree with and that means a firm No to violence, negativity, hatred and abuse of other lives – be it human, animal or nature.
In world where you can be anything you want to be – let us just start with being kind.
Jani Viswanath PhD is a humanitarian, artist, author and film producer who believes in the power of storytelling to inspire peace and empathy. She is dedicated to uplifting lives with stories that bridge cultures and has meaningful impact across communities worldwide.
