Wednesday, December 28, 2011

This is the end, beautiful friend

This is the end 
Beautiful friend
This is the end 
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end

Jim Morrison echoes in my ears as another year comes to an end. 2012 as the end of the world is a much discussed topic, so much so that there is a movie, a million websites and some zillion discourses on it. As 2011 winds down, one can't but, for once, think about the unknown awaiting us next year. Is the world really going to end? Well, I think it is. This is the end of the world as we know it. This is the end, beautiful friend....

If you look at the signs that have been strewn down our path in 2011, it is but obvious. The world is already changing, it is already a different place. It is as conflicted as ever, but new voices are being heard, new order is being established. If the nineties saw the fall of the communist regime, this millennium has seen the dismantling of many a dictatorship, many a monarchy.  Tunisia's Jasmine revolution, America's Occupy Wall street, India's Anna Hazare and many others have taken on the establishment. Corporate greed has been questioned, political  hegemony is under threat, bureaucratic indifference is being shaken up. The new voices through social media, the echoes of these voices in an extremely connected world, the tremors of the actions spurred by these voices are seen in civil society today. The last bastion of established order, capitalism is under threat now. The fall of capitalism will change the world order, the economic might of nations and corporations will not matter, the playing field will change. Is that what 2012 is going to be about?

What will be the new social order? Will it be one where individual freedom, enterprise and creativity is celebrated? Will it be one where corporate greed, network and scale are not adulated? Will it be a more equal world which is less insular and more inclusive? Will there be self sustaining smaller local economies that focus on the immediate needs of the community? Yes, 2012 has everything going for it to be a decisive year. A year that changes the way the world behaves. A year that awakens millions, a year that is the beginning of a new social order, a year that is the end of the world as we know it. This is the year that can set us free, go grab it...

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end



1 comment:

  1. Very interesting questions. Keep writing. Would love to hear more from you on how to make happen changes you have been suggesting in your posts.

    All the best!!

    Nitin

    ReplyDelete