Thoughts
Can 2020 get worse?
-Akshaj balaji
2020. Well, it has been a long, long year with everyone stuck at home due to a global pandemic and many have declared it to be the worst year ever. During the tiresome year, there is one particular story not covered much by news channels that is not exactly bad news or good news but could change the public’s perspective on the existence of aliens forever. This took place during the ending of April but the news of the several catastrophes in the year probably overshadowed this particular piece of information causing the public to be relatively unknown about this.
The story is that the US Pentagon released 3 separate footages on behalf of the department of defence. These are sets of real footage captured by the US Navy’s planes in November 2004 and January 2015. These videos were leaked to the New York Times in early 2017, which sparked several questions from the public, questioning the reliability of the source and whether or not the videos were real. To clear things up to the public, the Pentagon finally released the footage captured by American aircrafts earlier this year.
Now, you might think something with the potential of creating panic on this level should be widely known. Except, it’s quite the opposite - the very thing the video has is what makes it unknown. The video comprises sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects, or UFOs. Yes, you read that right, these objects are alien to the government. The US government, which collects so much intel and contains a record of almost everything, is unsure of what these objects are. However, we can only assume that these flying objects are actually from outer space as there is no rock-hard evidence claiming that the items are extraterrestrial. All we know is that they are classified as ‘unknown’.
One of the 'UFOs' captured by the Pentagon, released as part of declassified videos.
The pentagon officially launched a task force to investigate these sets of clips in August this year, called the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force, or UAPTF to investigate the unexplained aerial incidents encountered by the U.S. military. President Donald Trump has also previously described the U.S. Navy footage as ‘a hell of a video’ and told Reuters that he wonders ‘if it’s real.’ In June, the Senate Intelligence Committee also voted that the Pentagon, as well as intelligence community leaders, should provide a public analysis of the encounters.
After Trump’s remarks, it is clear that there could be another reason the Trump Administration released these videos at this time when they haven’t officially been released before. The government may also be trying to mask the news of the ongoing pandemic to reduce panic and chaos around the country. During the time, election was a huge importance for Trump and he needed the public to view him in a good way and to do that he would have to mask his handling of the pandemic. This of course, didn’t work as the pandemic is still on top of all the headlines to this day.
A sighting of UFOs is a pretty big deal, but why is it not being mentioned in the news? So, what is happening could be one of two possibilities. The first is that there could be an overwhelming amount of information already being circulated in media outlets during the year, overshadowing this news from reaching the public. Another, could be that this is a failed attempt by the government to reduce panic and chaos behind the pandemic. Since the public are relatively uninformed about these videos there is no way of knowing what they think about it. However I am extremely excited to see how this investigation goes further.
A human enigma
-Snigdha dhameja
In the many years of evolution,
we've questioned lots of things
the math, the science and the differences
of all that is around us.
It is easy to be satisfied
when you are oblivious
to the why and how
but a child of negligible age
seems to know more now.
The stars don't revolve around us,
the Earth is destined to die
humanity is a cursed race
but do we know why?
Scientists pore over equations
and cures to save us all
but we don't know why we're dying
Do we know anything at all?
In the years humanity has progressed,
our thoughts progressed as well
we grew in numbers, lived for longer
but now existence is only futile.
Growth leads to more problems,
and our growth now is exponential
the question of everything and anything
seems to be the new essential.
In the unknown is where our fate lies,
a panacea for our deadly disease,
we're not dead yet, nor are we alive,
but somewhere in between.
The future knows no bounds
nor does progress' pace
but will the coming years
lead to the end of our race?
Grieving the unknown
-ishana modi
How do we go on?
When someone close to our heart,
Has left us all alone,
Gone down a different path,
There is no way to follow,
Once they have gone beyond,
Slipped past the veil,
As we try to abscond,
The feelings churning in us,
How do we let it out?
Cut ourselves off from the world?
Climb up a hill and shout?
Our sheer impermanence,
So hard for us to digest,
Some believe the soul lives on,
While others lay it to rest,
Their life is celebrated,
With ceremonies galore,
Organs donated to science,
Bodies placed for vultures to devour,
Graves are decorated,
Candles and torches are lit,
When their casket is lowered,
Dirt, in handfuls, is thrown into the pit.
These beliefs and practices,
With death, help us cope,
In pitch-black darkness,
They act like a guiding rope,
Though most are based on speculation,
Or guesswork of some kind,
They fill us with reassurance,
Bringing peace to our mind,
Lit lamps and murmured words,
May be of meaning, devoid,
But it truly helps us resist,
The ever-present call of the void.
Afterlife, a belief,
That our soul does not cease,
Brings to us some comfort,
A certain sense of peace,
Accountability for our actions,
In the mortal realm,
Awaits us in the beyond,
After Death shall overwhelm,
Heaven and Hell lie waiting,
With their doors open wide,
Reflections of our deeds,
Can be found inside,
Others believe that life on Earth,
Is a punishment on its own,
Those reincarnated,
Must, for their sins, atone,
Many believe the spirits,
That have not approached the light,
Have some unfinished business,
A wrong not yet made right.
The void of understanding
-ishana modi
Man has always been afraid,
Of all he doesn’t know,
Unanswered questions bubble up,
Where do we come from? Where do we go?
Lamps have been lit,
Expeditions have been made,
Books have been written,
One by one, answers have been laid.
Down, down, down,
The deeper we try to go,
More questions keep cropping up,
Seeds of doubt begin to grow.
To soothe our mind and ego,
And keep our heads up tall,
We say, “If I can’t understand it,
It is worth nothing at all.”
And so, we have stopped trying,
To understand life as it is,
We warp and shift perception,
Pick and choose only bits.
We refuse to see the big picture,
Too complicated to understand,
So we shut our eyes tight,
Cover our ears with our hands.
We turn away from the void,
Simply refuse to believe,
As our brain repeats again,
“Nothing can be bigger than me”.
Fear
-Roshni patel
Fear is a common trait in humans. We all have our own fears, some that we can overcome and others we cannot bear to face. It is a basic, but strong emotion. It makes people think irrationally or could even help some of us think creatively!
We are scared of many things on a daily basis, but most of our fears are beyond the things around us. There are fears we face within ourselves. Ones we may or may not know the origins of, but they exist. We face them everyday or on many days, even without noticing it.
Acknowledging and understanding these fears can make a big difference.
They could be about anything- the future, failure, the past.
To overcome a fear, it is important to understand it and keep working toward accepting it. Talking to someone about how you feel helps in overcoming a certain fear.
Remember that fearing something is not wrong or a sign of weakness, it is just who we are!
What do we fear most?
We fear our own minds,
our fears are a part of our minds.
We try to avoid the dark thoughts we have
But what good is that,
When you can’t stop the fear
Fear is so common,
Yet, we cripple of it.
It is why we cripple of it.