"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
George Bernard Shaw
When I first read this quote about a decade ago, I had felt a sigh of relief. Everybody was telling me I was being unreasonable to expect the things that seemed basics to me. To me, there was something very wrong with many things in the world and they needed to be changed. Everybody else around me seemed to think things needed to be accepted as they were. So now, here we are, and I'm about to set off on an endeavor and I have no idea what I am doing!
Many people see the removal of borders as blockage of free movement as unreasonable. They cannot imagine such a thing.
I do not imagine it. I do not need to imagine it, we just need to make it, we need to create a borderless world and then see it with our own very eyes. We need to create that world because the way things are now, borders and visas mean "global apartheid". It's a huge injustice at birth. And it simply needs to end. Full stop.
Garry Davis, who believed in the ideal of a united world, died a couple of years ago. I believe the world needs someone to take over his flag.* As there doesn't seem to be anyone up for the task, at least not that I know of, I take it on myself. Of course, my views are a bit different than Davis's. I am not advocating for a world government or a world citizenship. (On the contrary, I think the smaller the governing community, the better it is. I think in terms of being "human", a mere human instead of a "world citizen." Unfortunately, being "a member of the human race" holds no value in itself in the world we live today, it's your citizenship, it's your statehood, it's the nation state you belong to that has the value. Strip yourself of the sovereignty and the protection of a state, you are left naked as a jaybird, as bald as a coot, like a shag on a rock!) I am only saying it is very unjust and unfair to discriminate people according to where they were born, and those lines drawn by a literally bloody war or a metaphorically bloody politics should not define the extent of people's mobility in the world. That's it. Even though people may agree with these on theoretical terms, they come up with arguments like security, economics, cultural change etc. They see those as reasons, whereas for me, they can only be excuses as there can be no reason for acting so unjustly and the right and just thing needs to be done whatever the cost. Locking your own door is one thing, blocking a group of people from roaming the world they were born on is another. Travel or movement is an inalienable right that states have hijacked from us. (In fact, states have hijacked a lot of other rights from us, the basic being the power to rule our own lives, our own monies, to make our own decisions. So much power of the states should end. Self-determination should take over.)
I know some saw Davis as "nuts", and the same may go for me as well; I don't mind. Somebody has to do it, somebody has to play the role of "nuts" to show the world and its leaders their own madness.
I don't know if going to every country in the world and then burning passports would serve anything, I'm just hoping it would. At least it could raise some awareness. You may call it a stupid idea, no worries, I have my doubts about its wisdom too. But you know... Gandhi started Satyaghara (devotion to the truth) or non-violent protest by burning registration cards in Johannesburg, South Africa. In fact, it -this thing that drives me- might have been inspired by that.
“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” Henry David Thoreau
I believe and hope my project would strike at the root but I'm not in a position to just leave everything and take off for this mission. It will still be taking some years. 6-8 or even 10. That seems too long a time. People keep on dying. For just trying to move from one place to another. This territoriality of ours... Is it similar to dogs? Is it natural? But then is it human to just watch this happening?
Man made laws are not like natural laws, they're not written in stone. We may not be able to change the laws of nature but we can change man-made laws. In fact, that's what we should be doing if we see those laws do not make sense and are unjust.
As long as there is no problem in the nuclear family or a disaster striking, I mean apart from these not happening, that is living healthy as a family, I have no personal desires. The only thing I wish is for people to be able to walk freely on the planet they were born and just as we have learnt to fly like birds, dive like fishes, climb the mountains like tigers, that we learn to live like humans on Earth. This is not going to materialize as long as humanity is not ready for it. With age, one learns to accept the world. Of course, in spite of this, it is important to not lose heart and endeavor to make a positive step. Otherwise, what's the point of our living?
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