I've always been one to side with the underdog, and desperately wanted to act to save the smaller ant. Especially as it looked like it had lost a few limbs and was struggling to escape. But I hesitated, and watched hoping the smaller one would escape itself. I waited and waited until the time for action had passed.
You see in that moment, I was actually paralysed because a number of theories flooded my head. Maybe the smaller ant was a rebel, or carried a disease which was a danger to the whole colony, maybe the ants were from a rival colonies, maybe they were different types of ants which do kill each other. Maybe the bigger ant wasn't trying to kill the smaller one but taking it home to help. Maybe I have no right to intervene in what goes on in the animal kingdon based on my limited understanding...the list of maybe's didnt end.
None of the theories statisfy me still, each one based on an assumption, not fact to the reality of the silent murder being played out. I had a epiphany, at that moment I realised it must be the same for any outsider with the power to swiftly change the world around them.
In that moment I realised how it must feel to the President or Prime Minister of a Nuclear Power who see's 'little people' killing each other whether at home or overseas. His / her economic, military and legal powers could change things and give the underdog a chance and level the field with equality for all. But like me, he / she too are paralysed by the many streams of intelligence and knowledge, busy juggling political and economic gains. Paralysed till the time is past.
I learnt my lesson, in the future, I will be applying the theory of Ockham's Razor to any such event if it ever happens again. This theory states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected. Other, more complicated solutions may ultimately prove correct, but in the absence of clear certainty and proof, the fewer assumptions that are made, the better.
So in the case of my ants the smaller one was most likely eaten, not because of the fault of the bigger ant. But because of me. I was the one who had recently excavated the earth in the garden for the personal gain of my household, and in the process had inadvertently damaged the nest of the ants, upsetting their hibernation in the middle of winter and most likely destroyed their food stores too. Obviously then forcing them to go out looking for anything they could find to keep the colony going - even if this meant eating other ants.
So my personal foreign policy (I dont live in the garden!) had impacted another earthling forcing it to kill. Not so different than the foreign policies of some stronger economic countries today. So my wish for 2015 is that the leaders of all countries especially the super powers think less with their head's of intelligence but more with their own heart and soul like a great leader really does.
By Ansar Khan - London UK
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