Modern man is taught
To question everything,
To revisit every dogma
And tradition, review
All beliefs. Failing to see
That not all traditions
Are skewered and unjust,
Not all dogmas are
Impractical. And that for
All their perceived folly,
Perhaps his ancestors
Over thousands of years
Have learnt some wisdom,
And, in truth, earned
A little respect from him.
.................
Are we better than the Romans? Are we better than the Egyptian Pharaohs? The Ancient Greeks? The Carthagians? The European Renaissance? The Ummayad Caliphate of Damascus and Andalusia? The Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad? The Ottomans? There is good and bad, there is holiness and tyranny in all ages.
2. Modern Man II
Modern man thinks
He is thinking,
Sadly, he is only drifting.
He could have chosen safety,
And stayed in the harbour,
But he is disdainful of his elders,
And seeks a reputation
For wisdom and adventure.
He has no sail or anchor,
He is without a rudder,
Really, he has no ship whatsoever,
For such things are inventions
Of another era, and in his pride
He thinks he can do better.
.................
LEFT WING AND RIGHT WING HUBRIS. I find that politics is replicated through all times and in almost all nation. In each nation we have the ignorant and the educated, each party personalised by their individual sense of pride and hubris. We are not interested in either if no good manners is exemplified. That is why myself, a firm follower of American politics find myself firmly in the middle - between the conservative right-wing Christians and the left wing liberal progressive agnostics and Atheists. I value the traditional family-oriented ideals of the right but cannot accept their pride in their ignorance. And I value the forward-looking and (mostly) well-educated progressives but I find certain aspects of their hatred of religion unbecoming of their claimed tolerance. American progressives complain that politics are drifting too much to the right. American Neo-cons assert that US politics are drifting too far to the left under Obama. The truth is that they are both true. Each wing is pulling the centre to their own extreme ends, and pulling the American nation apart. Anti-Americans may rejoice, but I think the whole world should be gravely concerned.
The Prophet(pbuh) says that the best way is the Middle Way, the Moderate Path. And I believe what Muhammad (pbuh) preaches is to be the best ideal of spiritual and physical life. A balance between respect for the past and its traditions, and a latent progressive-minded approach to life. Because you see, our soul needs both wings, the right and the left, for us to fly to the Divine Presence.
Have a good flight, sunshine. See you in the sky.
wa min Allah at-taufiq
Hate has no place in Islam
Love will show the Way
No comments:
Post a Comment