Neglected, and the spark burns the house. This is an old saying but in the current day context it has got greater significance. That stage at which the modern man has reached, it is expected that there are least chances of neglecting the sparks which have the capability of causing great fires and great destructions. So, man today knows what the consequences of such neglect could be.
Modern stage is not only about the availability of collective wisdom of the entire humanity at a single place but it is also about the availability of the wisdom of all the previous ages plus that of the current age to majority of the people. The treasures of knowledge and the ultramodern technology have made this possible for the modern man and hence expecting that the man would neglect any sparks is not normally thought of, there normally should be least chances of such neglects.
Unfortunately, neglects do take place and some of the neglects are committed by the men, groups and nations who are least expected to do that. It is worth mentioning here that the neglects committed by ordinary men are not usually of too much of concern for they cause not too much of harm but when extraordinary men and multitudes of men commit the neglects, the repercussions of such neglects are huge and at time they precipitate as threats to the existence of the entire groups and nations and even to the entire global order.
Such neglects, the neglects of the latter kind, are being committed at every stage of human association and by the people and nations who are not expected by anyway to commit such neglects. If we see the global order, the issue of nuclear weapons is neglected. It is expected that the assured mutual destruction capability of these weapons is enough of a deterrent to deter the nuclear weapons possessing nations to use them.
This is a false perception equivalent of expecting too much or being too big idealists. Assured mutual destruction is a deterrent but not an assurance that such weapons would never be used. Considering the level and type of issues and conflicts that exist in the current day world order any accident or intention can result in the outbreak of a nuclear war, an all out war may be, God forbid.
May be man might avoid such a war on account of the conflicts and pending disputes between and within nations but nuclear war on account of scarcity of some vital natural resources could be an imminent possibility. Water is one such resource which could become a reason for future wars where nuclear weapons in all possibility might be used.
It has been observed that the nuclear weapons possessing nations are trying to make changes in their nuclear weapons which they could use against their adversaries, while taking the adversaries in surprise and unprepared for such a strike. Plus, there is a possibility of some countries using these weapons in desperation.
As such, global leaders should in all earnestness realize the gravity of the situation and initiate fresh measures to deal with the issue of nuclear weapons. The ultimate objective should be to eliminate these weapons altogether but as that is not practically feasible at this stage of the human history, the leaders should try to ensure other safeguards beyond the mutually assured destruction.
These safeguards include the resolution of all the unresolved conflicts and disputes. That attitude for the resolution of these problems should be compromise and consensus, where all the parties are ready to give something and take the other. Where all the parties associated with the issue are taken on board, their sides of the story given a patient hearing and trying to accommodate as much to the interests of the parties concerned without adversely affecting any party.
Another issue at the global level which stands neglected is that of the environment. Man has caused enough damage to the environment around. The level of damage is immense, if not humongous. Though the culprits who have caused this damage, and are causing major part of this damage, are only few of the rich countries of the world but the symptoms and repercussions are bound to be faced by the whole of humanity. Some of the signs of the adverse consequences of environmental degradation are already visible in many parts of the world.
The world bodies and the national institutions and organizations have so far failed in reversing the environmental degradation. The hostile attitude of some of the global leaders like the United States makes the future prospects bleak. Others also show least concern for the state and health of the environment; they only pass the buck of the blame.
In this case also a rational approach is the need of the hour. All the countries need to realize their role and take their share of responsibility, in proportion more or less of the damages they have caused to the environment. Those who have caused less of damage to the environment must not expect that the industrialized countries will do everything in the matter; their also is a role, an important role. Environment if left unattended has the capability of causing damage greater in proportion that can be caused by nuclear weapons of a country, if not greater but at least equal to that.
A healthy global order demands progressive and powerful nation states. In case the nation states become weak they might be rendered incapable of taking their share of responsibilities to keep the world going. Failure to take up their share of responsibilities by the national states could worsen all the other global and national issues.
It could make the safety of the nuclear weapons vulnerable. It could make the issue of environmental degradation tougher to deal with. It could provide fertile ground for extremist and anarchists. It could create a situation of lawlessness and breakdown of the healthy relation of the ruled and the rulers. And it could leave the masses with the only option but to act as atomized individuals turning the conditions as nasty, brutish, short and isolated.
To deal with this issue is to deal with all the nation weakening issues, agents, problems and people. The issues of communalism, criminalization of politics and other spheres of life, regionalism, poverty, hunger, homelessness and all the others need to be taken up for their solutions and resolutions.
It has been observed that many people and politicians keep these issues always unaddressed to keep them in power. This should not happen now, somewhere breaks have to be applied on such politicians and people. Else they are going to keep the nation states hostage for ages to come in these chronic and acute problems. It is reiterated, the irresolution of these problems somehow impacts the healthy global relations adversely in the globalized world.
In all the aforementioned and above discussed issues and the rest the sparks stand neglected. However, there always remains a gap and time which a spark needs to turn into fire. Perhaps we are passing through that gap and that time. At this stage the sparks can still be prevented from turning into fire and burning the house. The burning of the house this time might mean the disruption and destruction of the entire world. The house needs to be protected at all costs.
