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Regarding Steve's anguish for the devastation in Vietnam and the violence that eventually breaks out in the Kent University campus as one of its far-reaching consequences, I would like to share a line from an Urdu poem by Rahat Indori, a celebrated Indian lyricist who passed away on 11th August, 2020. The line can be loosely translated as "if a fire breaks out, many homes will go up in flames, our house is not the only one that stands in this locality". It makes me think of how we are all connected in a way that causes ripples of disturbance in the lives of us all (whether or not we know it) when something goes awry somewhere.

Yes, you are correct. We humans can't always ignore what is going on in the world. There are times when we must make a stand for those nearby. Since we are all connected, whatever occurs around us will have an impact on each and every one of us.

Radhika Nair wrote: ↑17 Aug 2022, 03:16 Regarding Steve's anguish for the devastation in Vietnam and the violence that eventually breaks out in the Kent University campus as one of its far-reaching consequences, I would like to share a line from an Urdu poem by Rahat Indori, a celebrated Indian lyricist who passed away on 11th August, 2020. The line can be loosely translated as "if a fire breaks out, many homes will go up in flames, our house is not the only one that stands in this locality". It makes me think of how we are all connected in a way that causes ripples of disturbance in the lives of us all (whether or not we know it) when something goes awry somewhere.

I haven't read any anti-war poetry but the line given makes sense. War affects a lot of other countries not directly involved in the war, as well as those involved.

Wow! Your outlook and relation with a poem is very amazing. It is very true, the poem's message. The killings at Kent and Vietnam created a chain reaction of events that consequently causes disillusionment and deaths.

I agree that we are all connected. The world is one big village. War in one place can create hardship in other countries. The war in Ukraine and Russia is a perfect example.

I fully understand what your described poem is trying to say. The effects of fires (which may be
lie, evils, or in this case, war) do not tend to remain in the one place. It spreads like a virus and is very difficult to contain, so it's best to prevent it.

Thank you for sharing. That's a very moving line. And I wish we didn't forget that silly differences are minute in comparison to what joins us as humans.

Deep. We are all indeed connected. We (Yorùbá) have an adage over here in Nigeria. We say "humans are water."

Yeah. I agree with this. Wars occur due to years of errors and issues in the society, mostly between a people and the government. There are many anti-war and many talk on the wickedness of the men at the top who brew war for the common man. He saves himself while the common man perishes.

So true, war has far more impact on the entire world than people realize. its impact is felt even in places that have no connection to the warring countries at all. And Vietnam war may have been fought in Vietnam with American soldiers, but it definitely impacted the whole world in one way or another.

That's such a beautiful line. And yes, I defnitely agree. All of society is connected, and we must be conscious of our actions in order to help others and not hurt them.

I do believe we are all connected in some ways and that we can also affect the lives of others we don't know at all, just by being you and standing up for yourself and your believes. What you do, can directly and indirectly affect others without you even knowing it.

There was once a man that had a very bad day and he was super short tempered at the office. At one of his sites, the client arrived and asked him something, but this employee completely exploded, shouted rudely and profanities at this client, etc. It was over something minor, but the client said he will not be spoken like that or handled the way he was by the employee. He then withdrew all his business from the company. This employee went to his home, phoned him, apologized and even begged him for forgiveness and to bring his business back to their company. The client refused and moved on with his life. That company lost one of their biggest clients and had to retrench over 150 employees. Just by losing his cool to the wrong person and at the wrong time, he lost his own job, directly affected over 150 people to also lose their jobs. The company lost a huge financial input and all those employees, who were retrenched, their families were also directly affected. This was just the direct impact, not even to mention the indirect impact this man had by losing his cool.

I can certainly agree with this opinion as many countries and peoples are affected by the war even if they are not directly involved. In this context, I also want to say that every action has an equal proportional reaction, which means that quite often we are dependent on others and vice versa without even realizing it. But even if this is not the case, the fact is that war is not a solution to any problem!

This poem reads to me as a rallying call of sorts by presenting the dire reality of a common affliction which in this instance is war. Very gripping.

Many of the anti-war poems i have read were understandably more morose in nature, more concerned with 'inevitable' doom. This line that you shared is more hopeful, more of a call to action. Thank you for sharing.