Time to praise and celebrate the real heroes out there changing the world…

Try asking kids… or for that matter adults, who their favorite personalities or heroes are and ask them to answer immediately. Most of the answers of them would be someone among the following people… a movie star, a television persona, a sports personality, a god or a mythological heroic warrior, a business tycoon, a politician or, as a few might answer, a noted scientist. But almost none of them would name a social worker, an aid worker, a human rights activist, a RTI/PIL warrior, a healer, a storyteller, a Greenpeace activist fighting oil companies destroying the arctic or a foreign national fighting against the Ebola epidemic in remote areas of Africa as their heroes. That’s one of the terrible wrongs of our materialistic consumerism-driven human world.  And it’s high time that we change our apathetic attitude towards the real heroes toiling to fight injustice and change our world for the better!

From the African wilderness to America… from the Arctic sea to the war-torn Gaza, everywhere countless ordinary men and women have fought and are fighting right now against various devils from wars to environment destruction. They took a stand and are arduously working, sometimes putting their lives in peril, to change the world and create a better future for humanity on this fragile planet. But unfortunately, these extraordinary folks have been largely ignored by our society… thanks to the corporate-controlled media and governments which mostly want the status quo to prevail and are generally very uncomfortable with people who question them.

      

WHY NO ADMIRATION FOR THE REAL HEROES?

Media… the TV channels, the newspapers and the radio, influence the masses the most. And the main problem with media is, most of them are owned by profit-driven corporations and as such seek and publish only stories that will bring them more audience and high TRP ratings. Moreover, most of the media networks are biased, corporate-friendly and generally take sides with some political party or religion. Thus, they have no time, space or interest in publishing and celebrating the everyday heroes of the world like an Israeli youngster refusing to sign up for the army which holds Gaza under gun point, or an young Amazonian tribe women fighting powerful oil companies trying to frack the Amazon rainforest land to extract oil.

The TV and the newspapers are effective ways to subdue the thinking of the masses by bombarding them with stupid reality shows and slapstick comedy shows like sitcoms and news stories carrying the gossips of movie stars and sportsmen. Consumerism is promoted with the thousands of adverts that penetrate our senses visually and by sound. That way dissent can be stifled and create a passive populace not concerned about pretty much anything, the breeding of conformist cattle if you will! 

SO WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T GIVE PROMINENCE TO THE PEOPLE THAT MATTER?

It is in the human nature to seek admiration from our fellow people and when they fail to show any sort of appreciation for the good service you have done for the common good of the world, you generally tend to get slightly dejected and exhausted. On the other hand, a simple clap or a thank you will work wonders for the person who did the good work. He/she will be inspired to do more good and thus change the world. When you can name the last highest grossing film at the box office, but don’t have an idea as to who invented the cure for Polio, then YOU ARE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORLD!

So, please… I humbly request you. Set your priorities right. When you see people doing good things for the world, appreciate them. Join your hands and clap for them, take your hat off and stand up in respect! Appreciate them for what they did and wish them to do more. And lastly, try to be like them!

NOW, HOW DO YOU LEARN ABOUT THE TRUE HEROES OF THE WORLD?

The best answer is… THE INTERNET! Dig up the internet for stories about people fighting radical religions, fundamentalism, wars, climate change, corporate theft, minimum wage, and working tirelessly to prevent the spread of epidemic diseases, running charity organizations working to find solutions for problems like safe drinking water, undernourishment, poverty, homelessness and a myriad of other problems plaguing the world. These are but few issues. There are lot more serious examples like the Kurdish Peshmerga forces of Iraq and Northern Syria that are valiantly fighting and resisting the advance of the cancer of Middle East, ISIS. The point is, you only have to search and you will find!

Also, not all media are paid or bought up by corporations and political parties. There are still some honest ones out there like the alternate media organizations that have come up in the recent days after exposure of cases of paid news and corruption in mainstream media. Choose these alternate media and listen/watch what they have to say. You’ll see that the world is full of awesome men and women who want to the change the lives of unfortunate souls around them!

Another last and important piece of advice… when you come across stories of everyday heroism, pass them. Share them with your friends, neighbors and society. A click of the “share” button on a facebook link detailing the work of the Greenpeace’s SavetheArctic campaign or the forward of an petition email from www.change.org won’t take up many of your resources! PEACE!

MAHENDRANATH R

7/10/2014

Chennai, India