MAD ENOUGH? Talk to a Monkey.

I understand.

I really do. Believe me.

Things aren’t the way you wish they were. They are rotten. I know that. I see that.

There’s a beast out there. A beast, blind, furious and running out of control. Shifting shape without warning, showing up without notice. It’s everywhere. A terror attack, a VIRUS epidemic, chronic depression, dry rivers, dead fish, drug addiction, a new dictator, human trafficking, inflation, pollution, assassination, brain drain, scams, child pornography – it’s spreading its tentacles with alarming speed. And you know what. It’s a beast that you unleashed.

You had opportunities. Plenty of them. To stop it.

When you were supposed to raise your voice you kept quite. When you were supposed to raise your hands you stuck them inside your cargo pants. When you supposed to object you said, “whatever.” When you were supposed to understand the issue you chose to pass. When you were supposed to learn what is right and what is wrong you were busy playing ping-pong. When you were supposed to stand for something, anything, you thought it was too inconvenient for your busy lifestyle.

And now, you have water that you can’t drink. You have air that you can’t breathe. You have roads that you can’t drive on. You have cities but you can’t live there. You have systems and processes in place. But they aren’t working. Corruption, conceit and flat-out constipation of values rule your world.

You are drowning in floods, dying in earth quakes, dying of poverty, committing mass suicides. You are disappearing of unmentionable diseases. Succumbing to unimaginable suffering.

Yes, I admit, you have become more and more innovative. Ingenious. Today, a school teacher was arrested for pushing her female students to prostitution. A hospital was found to trade in organs of unsuspecting patients. A woman was caught smuggling cocaine stuffed inside her dead baby’s belly. A father sold his own son to feed his family. A family sold its daughter to prostitution to feed itself. A son killed his parents for property. A 74 year old woman was bludgeoned to death for a sovereign of gold. A friend killed another to avoid paying back his debt. Yes, your society is adapting to the times well.

And you go on smiling. Walking. Working. Living. Your life is good. Your daughter is safe. Your friend doesn’t owe you money. Your wife isn’t a baby killer. Your mother isn’t alone. Your city hasn’t been bombed. Yes. Yes, your life is good.

But underneath this veneer of normalcy I smell fear. Unrecoganisable and unadmitted. Underneath this pretense of respectability I see fear. It’s coming closer. If the sins of your family, friends, and neighbours don’t haunt you down, the demons of your enemies will.

They are ready with their suicide bombers, mass massacres, arson and arsenic. They are waiting for you in movie halls, mass meetings, airplanes, airports, places of worship, places of work, and wayside parks. They are slowly, but steadily moving in to your life.

You may think I am exaggerating. Read my lips. “Go check the papers. See the news. Search the net.” The terror is coming closer. Closer than you imagine. Closer than you thought possible. Closer than it’s safe for you anymore.

Change is necessary. It is imminent. Even inevitable.

The question is will you help bring it about or will you just sit there and moan the slow death of the world as you know it?

Just as darkness spreads when light subsides, the evil will swell as the good caves in. It is a law of nature.

Get this straight. If you think you are doing good just by not participating in the destruction of our society and our planet, you are wrong.

In a battle between the destroyers of our community and the saviours of it, your silent passivity works against the good and for the evil.

If you don’t stand up and say, “NO” you are saying,”Yes.” There is no in-between. You may argue there is. But you know the truth.

You apathy and indifference is only going to make things worse.

It’s time for action.

Real action.

This is time for the young ones, and the old ones to come together. This is the time for the big ones and small ones to come together. This is the time for the tall ones and the short ones, the hips and the hicks, the nerds and geeks, the chicks and the hens to come together. This is the time for action. This is time to move in one direction. This is time to change the world!

This is time to protect what is ours. This is time to save what is left and build what we can. This is time to resurrect the human spirit. This is time to stand together, and say in one voice, “We will not let our freedom, our lives, and our future be taken from us. We will not let our cities be held for ransom.” This is time for us show our solidarity and fight for what we believe is just and right. For what we believe is true and fair.

This is time for us to build a society that cares.

And it’s no monkey business, my friend.

The old world order has to fall. With it, should fall, the idea that changing the world is difficult. Tough. Impossible. A boring and self-less act. That, it is a hobby. A calling. That, it is meant for people who are enlightened, different from you and me, and move around in shabby clothes. Such is not the case. Not any more.

Changing the world can be fun! Changing the world is an everyday thing. If you don’t think so, you are underestimating your own powers, my dear. Take it from an ape who knows what he’s talking about.

The only question is will you actively participate in it or be a puzzled passive onlooker?

Will you find the courage to shape the things to come or meekly accept what we make possible for you?

Will you fight for your vision of the world as it should be?

Will you discover and use your immense power or stay afraid and indifferent all your life?

If you are saying yes, then, “my brave soldier, do something. Do anything!” On the other hand, if you are comfortable in your incapacity for action, go back to your seat. Moan and whine at the sad state of things as usual. Live to regret seeing the day a monkey changed the world. Just wish me god speed!