It was close to midnight on March 5, 2022, at Tanjung Batu in Bintulu, Sarawak when I finished composing a poem. One through which I tried to evoke the emotions that were gripping me at that late hour. I like the quiet hours in the mornings and those towards midnight or even slipping past the hour as they are the best of times to do some quiet reflection and if in the mood, to compose a line or two. Or even try to eke out a new tune on my faithful Borneon lute, the sape’. It is always close by, almost pleading like a fussy baby to be picked up and be held in the arms.
In the stillness of the night, the thoughts and feelings that floated through my mind were nothing calm and peaceful at all, but something opposite to the calm settings I was ensconced in. How could it be when I was reflecting on the most recent flare up on the world stage — the outbreak of violent conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Specifically, the thought that came strongly to my reflection was how easily and suddenly fights and disagreements can escalate into a hot and bloody war. In this case, a hitherto simmering conflict between neighbours has suddenly escalated into an all-out war which, as the days developed and upon deeper reflection and analysis, has quickly escalated and morphed into the reality that it was – a proxy war between very powerful forces who have now emerged to the fore and into clearer focus for all the world to see and witness.
It seems always the case, the games that powerful people play all the time- just like a game of chess, metaphorically fierce and bloody- and similarly drawing its energies from the devious and calculative brains that scheme up grand strategies and tactical moves to outwit the opponent to make that one kill or objective- knocking out the Queen from the chessboard, at the expense of many other kills. Kills of mere pawns and disposable pieces. In modern war parlance, collateral damage. A game of checkmate and brinksmanship to get to the stated objective, whatever that is. Sometimes the stated is different from the underlying and unstated.
But in real life, very often and almost inevitably, things can and do get out of hand and explodes into the open in violent and bloody clashes which could prolong into perpetual conflicts and global-wide wars. The peacemakers are then nowhere to be found or are otherwise voiceless or rendered mute and disempowered. On the other hand, the ordinary people who don’t want wars, become victims as violence and killings become the order of the day and surround them like waves upon waves of engulfing fires in a tight cauldron of no escape. Witness the two world wars we have had so far and the countless other wars, conflicts, pseudo wars and undeclared wars which have killed millions of ordinary people and marred the Earth’s beautiful face forever.
Some say the third world war has already started but is not being acknowledged or admitted. I don’t know but there seems to be a perpetual conflict and unending war going on. The game of geopolitics and power play seems a perpetual battle coming in the form of relentless waves. Sometimes as a tsunami. As Kishore Mahbuni said in his article ‘Where are the peacemakers, quote: “geopolitics is a cruel game and follows the cold and ruthless logic of power, we must be cold, dispassionate and hard-headed in our analysis [to understand what’s happening].
The only iron law of geopolitics is that it punishes those who are naïve and ignore its cold logic.” By the way, Kishore Mahbubani, is a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, NUS, and the author of the book, ‘Has China Won?’
The obvious tragedy of wars is that whilst it is purportedly fought by the armed combatants on both sides of the conflict with increasingly horrendous effects, intensity, cruelty and devilish ingenuity, the deaths of the innocent civilians and non-combatants, whether the young or old, draws very little attention or real concern. The killing of the innocents should elicit the strongest moral outrages and protestations. Sometimes, war protests emerge to try and counter the determined marches into hell, deaths and perditions. But to little effect. On the other hand, the ordinary people are made into or seen as mere collateral damage – a disingenuous term that seeks to desensitise the tragedy, gore and horror, and attempts to disassociate the guilt and conscience that should come into the hearts and minds of all the perpetrators, if only they were right-thinking men and women.
There should be righteous outrage exploding like a thermonuclear blast of righteous anger in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. Instead, we find there is no sense of accountability, moral outrage and not even an iota of remorse amongst the belligerents and perpetrators. The sense of responsibility and liability is so far remote from the minds of the perpetrators and warmongers, that they think they are not accountable to anyone but themselves. Everyone in the fight is drunk with rage and revenge, giving full vent to their worst nature. Abandoning humanity and venting to their basest desires. No wonder it is said that hell is surrounded by desires. Hideous desires.
Imagine the volume of blood that has soaked the grounds of history and the oceans of tears that have flooded the memories of the ages on the back of the untold tragedies and loss of lives and limbs that have unfolded across the history of the world. The destruction of the living environment and the sheer wastage of resources is simply astounding and hideously profound. Even more shocking is the realisation as to why a sane, rational, gentle, usually loving creature – and a spiritual being, could degenerate so fast and into such depths of violence, depravity, madness and despair as demonstrated in times of war. That’s when there is mass amuck and killing frenzy.
Life, as described by Hobbes is already short and brutish as it is.
As a budding lawyer in the making, I recall reading in law school and classes on jurisprudence about the phrase describing life as being ‘nasty, brutish and short’, attributed to Thomas Hobbes, an English clergyman’s son who went to study at Oxford. In 1651, Hobbes wrote a famous book titled Leviathan. In the book, he expressed his views about the nature of human beings and on the necessity of governments and societies, ostensibly to control that human nature. Hobbes’ articulation that is fundamental to his conception of the need for a strong government is that the natural condition of human beings is that they are always fractious and antagonistic, and hence this will condemn men to live an existence of violence and misery without the control of a strong government. The publication of the book caused a strong reaction as many people disagreed with his interpretation of human nature. Maybe, they were appalled at the darkness that also lurks in the minds and is inherent in human nature?
So if life is indeed short and brutish, one of the main causes is undoubtedly the violent conflicts and wars that seem to accompany man’s existence on this Earth. Many are familiar with the creation stories and of how Cain and Abel, brothers of the same father ended up in violent and fatal conflict. In the biblical book of Genesis, Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, the eldest, then murdered Abel out of jealousy, whereupon God punished Cain by condemning him to a life of wandering. Human nature is such a paradox and affiliation to dogmatism has been one of the triggers that have led to conflicts and insane fights and wars over the ages. Of course, diseases and pandemics like the current one raging across the globe, natural disasters and other non-man made causes also contribute to the killings and shortness of human existence.
If ideas, dogma and concepts can be so powerful, words should also be the right tools to temper violent tendencies and elicit the tenderness that without doubt lurks somewhere deep in the recesses of the mind, or rather in what is commonly called the heart. The words spoken, selected, used – and narrative weaved into a conversation – are as powerful as or even more than swords, spears, bombs and superweapons conceived by the minds of man. Conversely, a wrong word spoken could cause grievous hurts and inflame emotions that will lead to conflicts and violence. It is said, the tongue can be sharper than the sword. The words in Proverbs 12:18 are pertinent – There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Used positively, words can build and heal.
Nonetheless, the solemn oath to turn weapons into ploughshares has yet to realise its intention.
So there I was, close to midnight by the shores of Tanjung Batu in Bintulu, reflecting on the drums of wars and how they are fast beating. This time around it’s the Russia-Ukraine war but many wars have happened beforehand and trying to write a poem that captures my feelings was hard. The product of my putting pen to paper was a poem entitled ‘The Drums of War’ which went as follows:
*** Poem *****The Drums of War
By Maya_Green
The drums of war are surely beating
Some ostentatiously, some just softly, softly
But there is no hiding, their ominous meaning
Whether beaten in anger or only just so gently
The drums of war are surely beating
The clock is fast approaching,
From bad to worst, will be the swing
A return to the norm, no longer a certainty
The drums of war are surely beating
Soon the rivers of tears will quickly follow
As anger gets out of hand, and in full swing
Madness and gore will be on the screen to show
Where has hope and temperance gone?
Having fled into hiding, from a hurricane
When has humanity’s candlelight last shone?
Being lost in the darkness of hearts profane
What is the ending of this foolish game?
A schoolyard brawl gone badly wrong
Adults behaving with no sense of shame
Their lies and half-truths, foolishly strong
The drums of war they should remain silent
Not a-beating the blood to such a boiling point
Let common sense be the sole sentiment
Abhorring war, and making the right point
*** End of Poem *****How ironic that the timing of composing a poem on ‘Drums of War’ is close to midnight at a time when the world itself is drawing ever closer to midnight on the Doomsday Clock. As Noam Chomsky has elegantly put it, I quote:
“We live in dangerous times. We may recall that the Doomsday Clock abandoned minutes and shifted to seconds under Trump, and is now set at 100 seconds to midnight — termination. The analysts who set the clock give three reasons: nuclear war, environmental destruction, and collapse of democracy and a free public sphere, which undermines the hope that informed and aroused citizens will compel their governments to overcome the dual race to disaster.
The war in Ukraine has exacerbated all three of these disastrous tendencies. The nuclear threat has sharply increased. The dire necessity of sharply reducing fossil fuel use had been reversed by the adulation of the destroyers of life on Earth for saving civilization from the Russians. And democracy and a free public sphere are an ominous decline.
What is going on throughout history is a travesty. Instead of beating the drums of wars calling for senseless killings of each other or in defence of some ideas, dogmas or concepts, why not beat all our weapons into ploughshares as we, the human family, have solemnly sworn to do once upon a time. We need to answer what Donny Osmond once asked in these words: “The world produces enough food to feed the entire population. It’s a travesty that anyone should go hungry anywhere.”
What will happen now is uncertain. Where will this all end up?
But what is clear is that it is up to us, the majority of the people living on earth to speak up against all the violence, wars and fighting, and the trickery and machinations that are going on. That is the one certainty that is obvious – that it is up to us to now act individually and in concert to stop this madness.
Finally, speak up and be counted amongst the peacekeepers and anti-war champions. Be the true human being that we are meant to be. At least take the first step to get there.
