Musing; Who Drew The Lines?

The world went to sleep last night. It woke up this morning and there are lines everywhere. Protests, anger, all sorts of displeasure have, and still are, being expressed about them. Almost everyone is up in arms, even I. As the crowd keeps marching and pressing on, chanting, fuming at the mouth, bearing placards, I stepped aside and studied the processions. Every class, strata, profession is represented. Each, employing methods best suited to them to decry the lines. I asked myself, “who then drew the lines if everyone is protesting against them?” 


We woke up and suddenly there are thick lines drawn between countries. Lines drawn between people. Lines drawn between parents and children. Lines drawn between religions. Lines drawn between which lives matter and which don’t. Lines drawn between genders. Lines drawn between ethnic groups. Lines drawn between political groups. There are thick, strong lines everywhere. Lines claiming lives massively across the world. 

Taking your hand to your pocket, in the past, brought smiles to faces. It meant, that one would get a gift. Today, taking your hand to your pocket could spell the end of life. Who drew the line?
Every human being has the right to practice whatever religion they want. Infact, they could have a brainwave and declare themselves a god, an ancestor come back, hungry for local delicacies and requesting sacrifices. That's fine. Whoever chooses to follow them, their decision. But the world woke up today and innocent lives are being claimed under the guise of religion. Who drew the line?

Political ideologies abound. Of course, we have differing opinion on issues, that’s why we don’t all look the same way or think the same way, else, won’t we all be robots? You believe in leadership from the front, the other person believes in leadership from the back. Another believes leadership should be from the top, yet another believes it should emerge from the bottom. Fine. Isn’t variety the spice of life? Do that which works for you, but allow the other the right to their opinion too. The world woke up and one had been killed for taking their stand on what they believe. Who drew the line?

Male and female, God created us. Even amongst animals, plants and other species of creatures, they’re divided along the male and female lines. You’re either one or the other. Even where, in rare instances, a being possesses attributes of both, they tend towards one gender than the other. Suddenly the world woke up and a female had been beaten to death by a male, simply because he can. A male openly threatens to beat up a female and is confident he will get away with it. Who drew the line?  

A couple, struck by Cupid’s arrow, decide to spend the rest of their lives together. Then they get to their parents and they’re told “not while I’m living will you marry a son/daughter from so and so place”. When did nationality or ethnicity become the key to happiness? When did love begin to come in colours and cultural togas? Who drew the line?

When did we stop being human? When did it begin to matter what colour one is? Back when slaves were traded, we said it was the Dark Age. We said those in that era didn’t know better. Now, we who claim to know better are worse than those who could not see the lines on their palms because of how dark their age was. When did we get so frozen that loss of lives don’t even scratch us anymore? It has become the norm. We now expect lives to be lost over the most mundane things. Now, the lives of cows are more precious than that of those who will eat them. 

So, I fold up my placard, turn away from the crowd of protesters and begin to head back to my desk. I need to consult more books. I need to watch some more historical films. I need to hear from those who lived through years before mine. I need to learn more about the peoples of the world. Maybe, just maybe I would understand why we need lines in the first place. And maybe, I will catch the pens in the hands of those who drew these lines.

Images: Google