Why Should There Be Unrest?

Unrest, in fact, is nothing special. These are only our normal transactions, but, of a very high intensity and rate. I could easily notice that, since the earliest days of life, frequent occurrence of this has more or less become a permanent feature of our world. Many a time it has resulted in wars and other skirmishes, and quite often, in building or destroying empires. In fact, all our glories, like explorations, discoveries and inventions, also can’t be seen to be independent of its influence.

However, instead of recognizing this simple fact, we have been attributing this turmoil to an unknown force. Sometimes we see this as a result of our sinful life, sometimes, which happens more often, we feel these are caused by forces external to us. And the force that is currently identified as the culprit becomes the villain, in one's depiction of life. Thus, for one who is left leaning, this unrest is due to class struggle and capital is the villain. For a capitalist however, it is caused by insufficient production, the villain becoming the low productivity of labor, or its main cause, the labor unions. Also, any of the other common culprits of social disharmony, like inter-religious rivalry, caste oppression, male chauvinism, or lack of faith in god, could become the ‘bad guy’, for those disposed to other viewpoints.

We are making two mistakes. We are not examining the root cause, the propensity to resort to transactions of the extremes. We are compounding it by directing our efforts to the apparent cause, capital, religion or chauvinism, which, even though is present in every society, need not necessarily affect its state of health.

Thus, beliefs, or the propensity to revel, as we adhere stronger there, makes the human society, a turbulent one.

But, if that is so, we should have been facing unrest constantly. And that too, everywhere in our life, in more or less equal proportion.

Yes, actually, it is so. Some kind of unrest happens everywhere, and we rejoice, when it is about things that are appealing. And, other instances of the same are absorbed in our 'strides', and we see those as a part of life. Both of which settles promptly, and quietly, as another facet of the current lifestyle we follow. In fact changes in politics, fashion, local customs, and many other rearrangements are there in our society, happening at all times, which individually or collectively absorb the commotion caused.

Normally all such changes happen without anybody noticing it as such. However, there is one exception. The abstract areas corresponding to the beliefs, each society entertain. Such entities can be seen to be successful in remaining active, whatever be the changes, a society may face. If and when a change becomes inevitable, say due to an invention, our appreciation of the same gets modified, so as to accommodate the original idea of the entity (the ideas enshrined in the beliefs entertained by the society) unscathed. And changes occurring in all the other areas get appropriated to suit whatever are the abstract notions extant in that area.

Thus, the consequences of almost every event, whether desirable or otherwise, tends to get distributed over and over, in the natural course of events itself. Which causes the subdued unrest also to get reinstated, at each such step. (Such redistribution does take place everywhere in the world. It is only over time, all things settle) The society, say wise men, leaders, etc., now invent a totally new reason for every instance of unrest, prescribing imaginative solutions. Every such solution adds to the unrest. Naturally, the unrest escalates, spreads, and lead to fresh solutions, and new instances of unrest. Thus, instead of getting tapered down while in repeated redistribution, it turns into an ambience of agitation, and becomes a staple element of human society.

I therefore feel, an effective way to deal with unrest is to attack the force that nurtures the unrest. Which is nothing but the aggregate of all the abstract notions extant in a society.

I know, this is easier said than done, but it is so only when we take such notions as unchangeable elements. Else, the unrest will settle down, moderating en route, all such notions.

We thus come to a simple answer, as far as making a human society that is always at ease. Be flexible, especially with the abstract tenets, every society is abundant with.