In the absence of information

It was a sunny afternoon, and almost autumn. It wasn’t warm, yet it wasn’t cold either. It was the weekend so I lay on my bed trying to blank out any thoughts in my mind, my eyes closed, the shades of the windows drawn, and all electronic devices unplugged.

Paedophilia and sexual predatory has become quite a trendy topic of discussion on the internet, I thought.

Everybody is talking about it, rationalising its existence and what can be done to bring an end to it. Women in general have lost faith in men, and trust levels are lower than the bare minimum that nature intended to maintain healthy relationships. Men on the other hand, are under so much scrutiny that they need to maintain the image of a catholic priest.

All things considered, the media hopes to create awareness about such things so that if anyone finds their neighbour engaging in such activities, they report it instantly and spread the word of caution. And it probably works out well for society, the offender is punished. But does it really stop these paedophiles and sadomasochists from acting out their obsessions? Food for thought.

Disturbing as they are, these thoughts occupied my mind that afternoon. Is there a way to cleanse society of these diseases, I thought? While a noble thought, it gave me little peace, all with the immense stresses of work during the week, compounded by bringing the horse to the water and not being able to make it drink it, and all.

But what about politics? An electrical engineer maintaining a power station should not have to think about when the government is changing hands. But they are having to, because those who are supposed to be acting on their behalf, to make sure their jobs are secure and the work can continue unhindered, are failing!

And I always believe that engineers and scientists should never enter politics. If not for any other reason, it is logic that refuses to present a suitable explanation about what goes on during mudslinging. Yet they are forced to, because they have the information about the collective failures of the government which is supposed to be protecting them.

Therefore, does the presence of such information really help to augment the career of career-minded individuals? Or, does the availability of the information help to cause any change to human nature, which is wrought with such imperfections that any individual of even a slight technical disposition is able to write books on it and make a fortune?

Extremely disturbing thoughts capable of making cynics out of the most steadfast believers.

And yet these are the first thoughts that filled my mind as I tried not to think of work. Because, even in the absence of information, there is information, being constantly created by our imagination. Such information needs an outlet too, and then uninterested people taking a break read them and think about it, like I am doing on this particular afternoon lying on my bed.

But was the world really that good before we got to know everything about it, or was it always this bad, and those not involved were really spared the cynicism? Because at the rate that cynicism is spreading, by the time we all turn into oldies, we will not have one face left smiling heartily, and the jolly old people spreading cheer like Dad’s army or Monty Python or Black Adder or Mr Bean will have disappeared forever.

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