WHEN man contravenes and trespasses bounds of decorum and propriety and becomes proud and arrogant, flaunting his might and corrupting the land without any compunction of the harm and sufferings he inflicts on his fellow man, a higher power or force intervenes to remind man of his excess and his fallibility.
Some refer it as a divine retribution while others call it a cosmic reminder in the unleashing of natural forces and pestilence that renders man helpless despite his cerebral fecundity and intellectual acumen.
Throughout man’s brief history of existence, he has been plagued with pestilence and disasters to remind him of his recklessness and wanton practice.
He perpetrated and engineered wars, economic sabotage and slavery to inflict sufferings on his fellow man. For man is a destructive animal causing destruction on the people and environment to serve his greed and volatile tendencies.
It is usually the powerful and rich countries that cause these mayhem on his fellow man usually from the poorer countries.
Man is experiencing the apocalyptic phenomenon that strikes rich and poor countries alike, such as the uncontrollable forest fires, drought, flooding, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and the coronavirus.
Covid-19 struck China, a world economic and military powerhouse that is challenging United States’ premier position testing its resilience.
Such disasters affect both rich and poor countries and one country’s predicament is also shared by others given the nature of our global village interactions and outreach.
Thus, we need a synergistic relation in sharing and helping each other. For in today’s world no country exists in isolation.
There are many unknowns in man’s existence that render him helpless when they strike to remind him not to wax proud and arrogant.
Yet man never learns through the ordeal although he manages to combat them. And for a while his existence stabilises before the onslaught of catastrophe that further challenges his existence and wellbeing.
For all his ingenuity, man is at the mercy of the elements. Perhaps man’s days are numbered, and he may self-destruct unless he mutates into a new biological entity that could withstand and accommodate a harsher, foreboding and challenging environment.
Alternatively, he could be replaced by a new species with an increased brain capacity and usage to survive a whole new set of environmental challenges.
Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin lectures in Penang. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
