If we isolate ourselves from Earth , getting away some distance from our world ,it would help us focus our attention on what it is otherwise too obvious to notice while we stay on it . To see what we may be really like it will help if we put ourselves into the shoes of a "Martian," if he happens to wear such an invention of the earth in the first place .
So what do Martians see of Planet Earth ?
What they see today is a population of over six billion people crawling out from every nook and corner like caterpillars .
Now ,almost all of this six billion devote a significant fraction of their time and energy to some sort of religious activity: rituals such as daily prayer (both public and private) or frequent attendance at ceremonies.Does this bring about a change in them?
From their point of view ,it must be hard keeping up with what it helps us to do .
We do claim it brings about peace in us but most of us are still aggressive ,wars have continued . So,they probably have a hard time understanding how clinging on to a religion helps us .
Sometimes we put our beloved dieties on the cross and brutally crucify them. Then we celebrate that piece of cowardice by explaining to the rest of the world that their deity has sacrificed himself for us and our cowardly acts .
To compensate for our wrongdoings we start celebrating the day he was born and completely ignore the day he died . This act is then celebrated by lighting up trees and giving presents to each other for their brilliant act of cowardice which they performed when their lord was being brutally crucified.
The Martians must be enamoured by the complete amnesia that the people of earth conveniently get whenever they choose to .
Costly sacrifices—like not working on certain days no matter what looming crisis needs prompt attention. " Sorry ! We work five days a week ,not an hour more " they usually say .
They see deliberate acts of destruction of valuable property if peoples demands on earth are not met - for eg . Riots ,strikes, curfews ,wars and other propaganda which promptly finds it's place within .
They see a chosen few who happen to control the worlds economy . Of course it's another matter they call themselves Republicans ,Democrats ,peoples party etc .
They see that while on one hand there is no dearth of food , there are people who haven't had a morsel for days on end . While some are having Coke ,cocktails and their liquid fermentations ,there are some who don't even get water to drink .And no one blinks an eyelid about that .Our life goes on .
They see certain groups of people worshipping animals and on the other hand they see those very animals getting slaughtered for exotic delicacies to be devoured at a lavish feast .
They see families and trusts that contribute to the maintenance of elaborate buildings,yet on the other hand these funds are siphoned off elsewhere without a dime being spent on the real cause .
They see abundant wastage being dumped in the rivers time and again and wonder how the seas and oceans are holding up centuries after centuries of this garbage .
They see us abiding with a host of keenly observed prohibitions and requirements, including not eating certain foods, wearing veils ,giving their lives up for a place in heaven which may or may not exist according to these fanatics They die when they are given life and hope to live when they die in some other world that they don't even have a clue about . These very people claim to give themselves up in the name of God ,yet take offense at apparently innocuous words and behaviors in others that can even rake up a war.
The Martians would have no doubt that we are a complicated species who are caught up in a whirlwind of man made confusion . If they were to step in and conquer earth it
could only be after a thorough study of earths inhabitants and what makes them tick .
It will probably take a few thousand light years to do that .Religion is just a speck of the controversies we are embroiled in . There are other issues which must be sending them into a tizzy every time they attempt to understand us earthlings .
Until then ,they won't touch us ,even with a barge pole .
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