People say that art is reflection of ourselves as human beings. If so, is it not wrong to say that deep down in our foundations, we’re both loving and caring creatures, as well as sick and perverse devils? Saints and Sinners we all are, yet it is funny how some people would be so ignorant as to censure the perfectly humane actions of some unsuspecting members of our species.

Who could be blamed though? Such is nature. Nature is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? Yet, the more we try to explain nature, the more we’ve come to destroy its very foundations (this is, however, another story on its own). Physics had us explain the mysterious forces of nature in the macro sense – the relation of energy and matter. Albert Einstein threw time into the mix, and we got the modern study of Physics. Chemistry and Biology, on the other hand, had us explain nature in the more micro sense – how little particles such as atoms and cells build up the complex objects we see in life.

Science stems from philosophy. Why not then, apply science to philosophy? Maybe, in doing so, we would be exposed to a whole new dimension of thoughts, beliefs and ideas.

Now, there are always two sides to a coin. For example, we can be both Saints and Sinners, or there can be a positive or negative terminal to an electric cell. The very foundation of all activities human beings engage in is – not our intellect, but rather, our emotions. And the foundation of emotion is the feeling of love, and the lack of it – which is hate. We are not loved, therefore we fear. We fear we are not appreciated. So we’d find faults. We’d find faults with others. And that leads to resentment, leading to hatred. Hatred begets evil.

We realise that Physics can explain all of these with ease. Love, an energy, cannot be created nor destroyed, but it can be converted from one form to another. Our actions will see a reaction force too, that is opposite in direction and equal in magnitude – in tandem with the Equity theory in sociology and the idea of reciprocation.

Perhaps, Star Wars fans might find such an idea familiar. Of course, doesn’t it sound like Yoda at all? Isn’t love just like the “Force”? The Dark side represents hatred and evil. And we are all capable of adhering to either side. However, this begs the question – if George Lucas could conceive of such an idea in the 1970s, and the Star Wars media franchise have become such a phenomena in pop culture, why do world leaders (as well as the average Joe) still fail to realise that the effectualness of our current forms of authority and governance can be very much questioned? Democracy or not, all forms of governance and any kind of political belief seems to be mired by ineffectualness to maintain order. Why, and how so?

Some day, we must all realise that it is our genetic buildup that governs all of our actions. They’re perhaps just what makes us human, and rules only serve to hinder that. The idea of altering the legislations in the many of the world’s political systems could already be a touchy subject, lest talk about abolishing it. However, ironically, rules are are the very reason why the order of a country is challenged. It is commonly said that rules are meant to be bent – there is indeed much truth in that statement, if we look at the situation from outside the political perspective.

Too often, authoritative figures tend to see that it is their hefty responsibility to rid the world of evil and try to fight crime. However, it is not a good idea to mete out punishment to rule-breakers and restrict a person from his or her right to fight, especially since it is that person’s birth right as a human being. Maybe, in our quest in trying to enforce justice and peace, we fail to see that this is what safeguarding human rights also constitutes.

If love is an energy, then hate, too, is a form of energy. Thus, it is an impossible task to rid the world of hate! No matter how bizarre this sounds, we should instead channel the “rogue” energy into “good” energy – “converting” hate to love. It is not a simple task to achieve, but it ensures perpetual world peace without endangering the human rights of any individual.

Punishment, such as incarceration, is too expensive and inefficient to carry out. It does serve as a deterrent to potential criminals. However, more often than not, it only brings more suffering to the prisoners and it further fuels their resentment and hatred, which would only lead to more crime, not to mention that majority of the world’s criminals haven’t even been dealt with!

Believe it or not, it all begins with love. Human beings all wish to be loved. That is why, children from dysfunctional families usually grow up to be rebels and troublemakers. Until we can do away with the void, which spawns hatred, we must nurture this feeling of being loved in each and everyone. We must love ourselves and love others, because if we don’t, we give the feeling of hate a reason to enter our hearts. We must stop being so apathetic and nonchalant, because our ignorance does not make us possess a stake of neutrality in any of the world’s matters. Rather, it is a stake of negativity.

Knowledge is key in that regard – through education. Certainly not education through rote learning, because it only benefits the methodical, hardworking and diligent individuals which most of us are not. To educate the masses, we must begin with education that caters to the masses. And believe it or not, the media is the most powerful educational tool yet to be harnessed properly to our advantage.

The internet – sites such as YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Wikipedia, as well as blogs and message boards – have already proved to be exemplars of effective educational tools. Furthermore, films such as Star Wars and video games such as Grand Theft Auto are no less effective than news media, and while less pervasive, it certainly trumps traditional rote learning in the classroom. Have you ever heard the eleven year-old complaining that “documentaries are boring”, and “Halo is so kewl [sic]“? Because they are! Believe it or not, the next generation of young minds will be better off learning geography through Google Earth and music through Guitar Hero, Rock Band or Beaterator. It engages more of our sensory perceptions than traditional rote learning, so why not? Surely, it is less serious in tone, but is adding fun as an element to learning anything bad?

Some food for thought – crime rates in the United States of America saw a decrease in those years with a major release of a Grand Theft Auto game – Grand Theft Auto III in 2001, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in 2002 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in 2004. While most tend to attribute blame to video games when met with reports of crime nowadays, no one can argue that Grand Theft Auto has been detrimental to humanity, because it certainly has helped push down crime rates, albeit not single-handedly. We’re not about to market Grand Theft Auto to children as “educational tools”, but with the development of new applications that can be purposed as educational games, it is to become more accessible and hence pervasive in the near future. With platforms such as the iPhone/iPod touch, the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii, and even Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Natal and Sony’s new PlayStation Eye, such a feat couldn’t have been easier.

Now, we all hate change. Change challenges the status quo, and often wrecks the stability we have established in our lives. But, it is time for change, a collective change in the mindset of humanity. A paradigm shift is just what we need. And, the first step to doing that? There are no definite ‘Saints’ or ‘Sinners’ – no black, no white, only a motley of colours that seem to appear as grey. We must accept that humanity is a single race. Segregation leads to marginalisation and dissent, which leads to evil. The point of being able to love ourselves and others, as human beings, is moot, if we do not possess the ability to manage and control it.

We must accept ourselves as one, as a collective group of people, yet understand that we are all unique individuals in our own right. We are not equal, no one is created equally. However, we are all biologically similar – similar enough to possess the same clear judgment as long as we clear our minds of ignorance and hatred which would cloud that judgment. Allow our differences to complement each other, not persist as obstacles that lead to destruction.

I do hope, that in a decade or two in the future, I would be able to log in into my blog, have a look at this post, and smile knowing that we have moved towards an enlightened future for humanity through a collective effort and mindset. Because, we are all capable of it.

Read also: “My vision for a new world”