From the beginning of its existence, human communities have been engaged in conflicts, often culminating in outright wars. Ever since humans have started thinking, they have always created a boundary demarcating ‘us’ and ‘they’. ‘Us’ is our community, and ‘they’ are not a part of our community. Thus, started the story of disharmony of humans. Humans divided themselves on the basis of region, language, color and culture. In modern times we see such divisions in the form of nations, races, and ethnicity. But what is so different about ‘them’ that we have always separated them from ‘us’. They too are humans like us, but this ‘common identity’ seems to be insufficient to overcome the differences.
Who are ‘they’, asks a four year child to her mother. ‘They’ are not like us, keep away from ‘them’, replied her mother. This is the story of ‘the boundary’ that permeates generations.
This is not surprising. Human nature has been like this since it started to walk on two legs. Even if humans somehow miraculously overcome these differences among them, the other animals will be treated as ‘they’. If even ‘they’ become ‘us’, poor plants will take the role of ‘they’. Further, if God is in really good mood, and humans realize the harmony of life, humans would ask, “who are ‘they’ living on other planets?”
What is not clear, is, why are we like this? Why do humans fail to see the larger identity. Why do we need to demarcate ourselves from the rest. Is it due to limited resources? Is it due to a false notion of superiority? Or, is it something else?
It is greed – the desire to have more than your need. We believe about others, what we are sure about ourselves. If a community kills other communities for resources, it has all the reasons to believe that others too will do so. Harmony cannot exist where there is greed. Every human community wants the maximum resources for itself, without worrying about the others. Thus. some communities have become so resourceful that just by being born in them you can be sure of a luxurious life. Others, are so poor, that being born in them could have been a curse of previous life.
Lion is often called the king of the jungle. Have you seen a lion hunting with a full tummy? Perhaps, it is because lions are not ‘intelligent’ enough to care to accumulate resources for the future. It is such a stupid animal that it hunts, only when it is hungry. If it gets a good hunt, then this stupid animal will sleep for days, doing nothing, but just enjoying life. But we humans have intelligence and we care not just for our present needs, but for future needs as well. We constantly try to accumulate more than what we can consume today.
We need resources for future, so what if ‘they’ don’t have resources for present. After all, ‘they’ are not ‘us’.