We Learn So Little From Peace

India recently had its general elections, which have been widely criticised for being lopsided and unfair. It’s not really the best of times for the country.

There’s severe political polarisation along religious and caste lines.

There’s rampant unemployment — particularly among the youth.

There’s a growing disparity between the rich and the poor — with wealth being concentrated in the hands of a handful.

Unconstitutional laws have almost legalised quid pro quo between govt. and businesses — promoting crony capitalism.

On top of that, the Indian railways is in a dire state with two major accidents in the last couple of days.

Then there’s a country-wide exam paper leak scandal happening.

I closely followed the elections last month — something I’ve never done before. And naturally, I felt very demotivated and sad and also ashamed at the state of the nation.

To say the least, the future looks bleak. It’s not surprising that as many as 5,000 millionaires are leaving India every year. Like everyone, I’m frustrated, angry, and feeling kind of hopeless.

But then I realised something the other day, which kind of gave me a ray of hope.

But before I get onto that, I should mention that I also happened to be following the politics in the US and the UK, and to say the least, none of them look very encouraging either.

If you want a brief synopsis, just watch John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight episodes on the US and the UK elections, and while you’re at it, make sure to watch the episode on India as well. You’ll get the gist.

Alright! With that out of the way, let’s get to the meat of today’s discussion.

Have you noticed that the biggest societal shifts and the most important innovations don’t happen when things are going well and everyone’s happy? Have you observed that they tend to occur only when something very bad is happening? When people are panicked, shocked, or worried — usually when their asses are on fire.

Here are a couple of examples from my home country.