What if everything was all good?

Everyone agrees about this we are not happy with the world the way it is Whether rich or poor urban or rural communist or capitalist black or white or some shade in between this religion or that mdash everyone wishes things were betterThere is violence everywhere Too many wars too many guns and too many people being killed including children There is too much crime No one is safe anymore Children are bought and sold as are women One religion calls the other a terrorist That one calls this one fascist Both want bloodTaxes are too high Roads have potholes Politicians are corrupt Everyone is corrupt Indians have no civic sense You canrsquot trust Russians Americans are fat greedy and like shooting things Nigerians talk too loudlyTherersquos too much pornographyClimate change is going to get us all sooner than later unless we nuke ourselves into oblivion before thatToo many divorces too much abuse too much estrangement too much cancer too many ultraprocessed foods and too many lies Everything is fake and getting fakier Everyone argues all the time AI is taking us over and madmen like Elon Musk are leading us into hellWe are the worst thing to happen to our speciesSo whatSo what would it be like if we got the world wersquod rather have a better worldLetrsquos talk about Bombai Click the QR code above to join my WhatsApp group to share your Bombai stories for my bookmdashand perhaps answer some of my Bombai questions1 There would be no wars In fact there would be no crime Wrestling boxing fight clubs Kung Fu kickboxing and other lsquosportsrsquo based on attacking other people would be out There would be no need or tolerance for weapons that could cause hurt harm and death All nuclear weapons biological weapons and instruments of pain or harm would be buried deep inside the earth or hurled far into space People everywhere would be unconditionally safeTerrorism which causes deaths would just disappear and counterterrorism which causes more deaths as well as inconvenience at airports would also disappear With the end of wars and crime both the military and police would become irrelevant and would be dismantled2 Everyone would be equal Everything would be shared equally among everyone Both feasts and famines would be out All the food in the world would be managed compassionately generously and efficiently without waste or excess No one would be poorer or richer than anyone else Colour would not make a difference black brown white or any other shade you would be just as important and cherished as anyone elseWith people respecting each other so much Hindus and Muslims would finally enter a time of eternal peace as would excolonies and their colonisers The past would be over forgiven and forgotten3 There would be no more lies People would just speak the truth with no secrets or deception The only exception would be if the truth would hurt or harm someone in which case they would become highly stressed and display physical symptoms caused by the impossible conflict between being honest and hurting someone4 Everyone would be cherished Anyone looking stressed or in danger of physical collapse would receive instant help treatment and loving care from anyone passing by including doctors at the hospital Children would be the most beloved and receive the best possible care and love from everyone Child abuse and human trafficking would both end5 Everyone would be kind Thinking of other peoplersquos needs would always come first People would always be trying to find new ways to improve each otherrsquos lives making time for friends family and others Animals and indeed all forms of life would be treated with the same reverence as human life It would be difficult for anyone to eat meat With this agriculture itself would change but species would thrive and nature would bounce back6 Everyone would care for the planet Harming the environment would be on par with harming human life and people would collectively do everything they could to keep everything clean grow more plants hurt no animals keep the air breathable and protect each other from environmental harmWhat if all this happened Imagine that a new highly contagious virus emerges whose main symptoms are that it makes each human being kind considerate generous cooperative honest and loving all the things we wish we were The thought of causing physical or emotional pain to someone else would make people physically ill or even die The virus which has taken over their brains makes them temperamentally incapable of uttering an untruthBest of all it brings to life a cherished dream unity as a species It achieves this by linking all human minds together so that everyonersquos thoughts memories and knowledge are shared No one could have any secrets or tell lies any more Everyone knew everything about everything and everyone like one planetwide ChatGPT The entire knowledge feelings experiences and thoughts of every human being would be instantly available to everyone else all the time In John Lennonrsquos words The world will live as oneHere is my question to you if a vaccine were created that would protect you from this virus and save you from becoming a part of this world would you take it Think before you write back to me at the email belowYou can reach C Y Gopinath at cygopigmailcomSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper