Diversity and the Reverence for Life

Violence has been a fact of human life from time immemorial and a considerable part of it derives from the intolerance of the ‘Other’, or those who are seen as aliens and ‘different’ by the barbaric practitioners of such savagery. Democracy is also all about humans cultivating tolerance for and accommodation of those who are seen as different, although these aspects of the democratic project tend to be deemphasized when dominant groups within countries seek to exercise collective and throttling control over those who are seen by them as having little or no right to exist in their midst.

We would be labouring the obvious if we say that much of contemporary bloodletting has to do with this brutal intolerance of the ‘Other’. World War Two, for instance, which claimed lives in the millions and was sparked by perceptions of racial purity on the part of the Nazi regime headed by Adolf Hitler, was characterized by this failure to revere and accept the ‘Other’ and contemporary times are so rife with this species of brutality that we would probably only be wearying the reader by recollecting them here afresh.

However, at a time when the world is commemorating the horrific 9/11 tragedy, it is relevant to take cognizance of the monstrous harm mankind is doing to itself by failing to respect and accommodate the ‘Other’, or, in other words, to foster a reverence for human life in all its diversity. Intolerance of diversity and plurality was a hallmark of the Nazis and continues to be a defining feature of fascist groups all over the world. Needless to say, this ideology of hate cannot go hand-in-hand with democracy, the messages of our greatest religions and mankind’s enlightened thought systems that proclaim a Reverence for Life.

In Sri Lanka there was the LTTE scourge which tormented us for 30 long years which had its roots in an ideology of racial hatred and rejection of the ‘Other’. The impact of the LTTE was so destructive and divisive that it bred mutual hatred among some sections of our public and helped in bringing into being brutal chauvinistic groups in Southern Sri Lanka too, which, in turn, helped in keeping the flames of war and conflict raging.

The lesson which should have been learnt is that hatred does not cease by hatred. But has this prized nugget of wisdom been taken possession of by the die-hard promoters of ethnic chauvinism?

In the post-Cold War world, ethnic wars and cultural conflicts, unfortunately, have assumed a discomforting salience and one of the most daunting challenges facing the international community is to make the world safe for diversity and peaceful co-existence among human groups characterized by a multitude of identity markers. To the extent to which this is achieved, it could be said that this world is no stage for a ‘Clash of Civilizations.’ If the world fails to make any progress towards this cherished aim of an international order which respects diversity and upholds Reverence for Life, the defenders of the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ thesis could be said to be vindicated, because human prejudice, intolerance and rejection of the ‘Other’, will win, over the spirit of democracy and the valued ethic of peaceful co-existence among human groups.

Sri Lanka is now bestowed with the opportunity of proving the proponents of the ‘Clash of Civilizations’ thesis wrong by establishing conclusively that it could pull through to an era of complete tolerance and understanding among its communities. That is, Sri Lanka too could show the way in institutionalizing and cherishing ‘Unity in Diversity’.

This is the foremost project in the post-conflict years in this country. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has repeatedly spoken up for the need for all of our communities to gather round the Sri Lankan flag. That is, we must forge ahead as a single and united polity and this message must be spread far and wide in this country and one could be glad that UPFA candidate at the forthcoming Colombo Municipal Council election Milinda Moragoda has made respect for the ‘Other’ one of his main campaign platforms.

Colombo with its rich mosaic of communities, religions and cultures should prove a fertile field to spread the message of continued peaceful co-existence among communities. Colombo could be transformed into an object lesson in greatly strengthened ethnic and cultural equality and we hope considerable headway would be made in this direction.

We do wish Colombo will be a trail-blazer in material prosperity as well as resoundingly flourishing ethnic and cultural accord. Making economic and other forms of equity a permanent feature of our social landscape becomes imperative.