COMMON FEARS

What do America and China have in common? Most would say financial clout. But wait a second, there is another factor which both these countries display in gay abandon and in full view of the whole world. I call it shameful but all my friends say that it is apt and the normal. They tell me that it is the way human beings react to circumstance.

America is afraid of persons who are non countrymen who belong to the Muslim religion. China is afraid of its own countrymen. America is constantly mining the Muslim countries for information against American property and American interests at home and abroad. China is also mining for information from within the country which is against its policy and seeks to gag what it calls dangerous propaganda. Both governments are afraid of people and both countries say that they are powerful. Does the fear factor increase with increase in wealth? Does the fear factor increase with increase in power? If yes, then what use is such wealth and power?

America has done a lot of damage to its reputation in the Muslim world. It has always acted in its own selfish interest without caring about the consequence on others. Blind support to Israel without taking other neighbors into confidence has been its policy since a very long time. Now it looks like boomerang time because Israel no more listens to its main patron. Political manipulation of the Gulf countries was a major agenda for America to safeguard its supply of oil. America never cared what other countries thought. Now when Iran is developing its nuclear technology and the whole world is looking the other way, America is at a loss for words. America has been behaving as the policeman for the world on its own for a very long time. Now when it needs help and support the world prefers to wait and watch. Watch what? If you want to believe me, they all are waiting for America to fall. The Muslims of the world cannot forgive America. Why should they? What benefit has America passed on to them in lieu of all the interference, destruction and robbery? Muslims have suffered the most for America’s foolish leadership and greedy policies towards self-aggrandizement. Iraq is living the price for no fault of theirs.

China and its communist leaders running the country knew that all its policies were wrong. They took a quite turn in the 1970’s towards capitalism but refused to hand down real freedom to its own people. Even today they prefer to gag the internet and throw out Google. They are not sure about their own countrymen need for information. The Chinese government believes in information censorship and thinks that they can continue to feed their countrymen with dressed down information. What a pity! China is riding a wild tiger. It is giving its people financial strength, modern education, freedom to think, desire to become a super power and control the world. But it won’t give them the right of self governance. The youngsters in China will soon rise against such foolish strategies because demand for freedom of choice will immediately follow once education and power is achieved. China sounds so scared of an old man and behaves like a child on his every movement, the man being Dalai Lama. In fact China cannot give the Tibetans the only two things that they seek religious and governance freedom within the framework of a united China. That would open up a Pandora box of similar demands from across the country.