The 3 Hs-Head, Heart & Hands, 23 09 2025
Watching TV news or reading the newspaper is my most distressing personal experience. The flood of hatred, cruelty, and violence flows unabated. Voice of sanity is loudly silent. I see many Dr. Jekylls turn into a Hyde at the very mention of religion, or the name of certain political leaders. This occurrence is not limited to India. In fact, it is a global phenomenon with the US leading the way.
What makes very kind, logical and sensitive people turn into blood thirsty hounds? Is human mind so fickle that a few miscreants can play havoc with it? If we want to reverse this trend, what can we do? I know the task is challenging even for the intellectual giants attempting it. But as they say, when the desire is strong, even the weak start exploring the how. Hence, my humble attempt at initiating the reversal.
I believe the first step we need to take is to identify and build on common grounds. Is sustained happiness not the universal goal for all human beings? Can this be the bedrock on which we start our rebuild. This foundation of our common goals needs to find a place in every thought, conversation and media coverage. Let us stop looking for differences, for it is easy to amplify any difference. Instead let us find common grounds everywhere; use sports, arts, music and our common existential challenge of fight against poverty and disease unite us.
Exploring the past attempts at building bridges across faiths and belief systems, I came across the concept of 3 Hs of Hearts, Heads and Hands used to bridge social divides. By finding common anxieties and elations to anchor unity, we can use our common identity as human beings to cement our relationships, and jointly execute the common plans prepared together to solve this existential threat. We can use the:
- Hearts: Spark this revival by getting our hearts together to find common grounds,
- Heads: Convert this spark into a flame by getting our heads together and engage in finding initiatives to build on the common grounds and appreciate the differences,
- Hands: Fuel the flame by combining our hands together to execute the plans our hearts have ignited and our heads have fanned into flames.
While our approaches can be different, there must be no doubting the integrity of the common purpose that different groups have for this effort to succeed. Hence, we only need a pivot for this lever to turn the tide. Do you agree with this simple prescription? Can each one of us be the change that we want to see and focus on identifying our common ground to amplify it?
Social Profiles