Let There be Light

Life has come to a standstill like never before. We hardly go out, unless it is needed. The places where we used to hang out are all shut, we cannot visit friends at their places, and cancelling long-made plans has the new name of 'being responsible'. But none of this has the power to stop us from connecting. We are in 2020, we connect at a click. Yes, a click is all that is needed, and we have our friends over video calls, beautiful pictures from all over the world, updates from everybody we know, funny videos, messages ranging from 140 characters to 1000 words essays, lessons from the classes that we cannot attend in person, everything is right there at our finger tips. The virus has kept us in, but it couldn't keep our voices down. Our words, joys, worries, fun, frolic, everything is out there for the world. Such is the boon of internet.

We wake up in the morning to pretty messages, some of us take breaks from work to delve into the virtual world, some of us do the opposite, either way, the internet has little pills of every color that can make everyone happy. While the real world is curing herself from the overuse and abuse of humans, the humans have their own little ruckus party in the virtual world. And just like the old lore where too many vessels cannot stay together without making some noise, we too, are crashing and clanging against each other here. In our quest of happiness, we at times stomp upon grounds where we should not step.

"Our feet, our wish, we will have our own stampede", these disturbing words mirror the situation in the internet today. As  much entitled we are to our opinions, we have stopped heeding to the presence of any other opinions. Our words hold true, our opinions matter, our voice must be the loudest, so what if it is making somebody else's ears bleed, so what if it is spewing venomous hatred, so what!! This nauseating idea of self importance is spreading out slowly like thick fuming tar. We, sitting behind our keyboards, clicking and typing to our hearts' content, can name and shame anybody we want to. We can put the fat people to their places, calling out on their ugliness when they think they can dance. We can establish the supremacy of our race or ethnicity, it is easy, all we need to do is belittle that of the others. We can leak out pictures that were sent to us with utmost trust, we can create news with a few forwards, we can do anything that we aim to, and we do.

Some of us are at the center of this whirlpool, some of us are nitpicking the amusement out of it, some of us are simply ignoring it all, deep breathing and believing that this does not concern them. We are all in the same line, like a line of candles, illuminating a space, keeping the darkness away. While some of these candles have put themselves out, to avoid any accidents, some others are threatening to start a raging fire, believing that it is utterly needed to heat up this cold world. We forget our basic duty, to bring in some light.

It wouldn't be too hard to let others be. It is not necessary that we must agree to everybody, but it is also not mandatory to curse people having a different opinion. The world already has enough problems, bringing out news, fighting a war against a virus threatening to wipe us away, would it be too much to ask, to not create hateful ruckus among each other in these times? I cannot answer this question. I can only act, and wait for others, one by one, to act, gradually lighting themselves up enough, to bring out the light, to bring down the rage, and slowly forming a chain of light that cuts out the darkness of negativity in this virtual world all together.