Khaberni - In an era where humans increase in number like mushrooms after the rain, while the mind shrinks like the waters of utility vanish in the desert of noise, the donkeys recede as if the universe decided to replace patience with noise, and loyalty with press releases, statements, and shiny tweets that reek of ambition and despair.
Yesterday, the head of Egyptian peasants said that donkeys bring psychological benefits, and that Spanish doctors resorted to them in forests to reduce stress during the coronavirus pandemic, supported by an organization called: "The Happy Donkey".
I contemplated the news and smiled: We slaughter donkeys to extract their hides for pricey drugs, and milk their females to make the finest types of soap and creams, all to treat the very stress that the donkey itself used to silently heal!
It is the genius of humans: they consume what heals them, and they sell what was once free.
The donkey is peaceful, intelligent, patient, loyal, and these are qualities rarely found in humans today. It does not flatter, nor does it wear the mask of virtue, nor does it draft reports to justify its missteps, nor does it raise flags of empty development.
It flatters no one, writes no statements to justify its errors, and raises no flags that claim false prosperity.
No hypocrisy, no pretense of virtue, no meaningless reports, and no illusionary slogans—just a silent existence that is not open to bargaining.
I remembered Tawfiq al-Hakim in "My Donkey Told Me", where the donkey was a greater philosopher than its owner, knowing the meaning of dignity and contentment and simplicity.
And I remembered Ali Shariati in "Awareness and Folly", where he distinguished between those who are foolishly coerced and those who choose foolishness voluntarily.
Today, I add a third category: "Luxury Folly": a monthly subscription with a membership card and a smart phone and application!
In the wise novel, the donkey said to its owner, "You ride me to get somewhere, and I endure you to keep you standing."
Today, humans ride everything from values to truth and up to the illusion of power, to arrive at nothing.
The donkey does not invent a bomb, does not steal, does not sell its conscience, all it does is to quietly be useful, while humans excel in creating destruction and waste resources and life, and cities turn into arenas of unending political shrieking, as in "Gaza" where continuous bombing and empty promises do not stop the pain, and civilians alone bear witness to the failure of all rhetoric, while the donkey, in silence, continues its role in daily life, a symbol of the loyalty and patience that humans have lost.
Perhaps a small carrot or a large one or a handful of straw is enough for it, it is content and continues the work, while humans demand the whole world and complain about lack of time and absence of peace.
In this world, the pure sounds of birds are absent and replaced by the braying of microphones, sincerity is gone, replaced by pretense and hypocrisy.
The donkey does not use social media and does not take selfies, but it does more good than any well-crafted speech or formal meeting.
Today, there are 44 million donkeys, while humans number more than eight billion.
Is this progress? Or is it the extinction of morals?
Perhaps the donkeys realized that the planet was no longer suitable for them, so they gently withdrew, leaving the field to more noisy and less beneficial competitors.
If the United Nations held a conference on ethics, the donkey would be the undisputed chairperson, and we would be a mere "case study".
Perhaps it's time we learn from the donkey: be useful when you can, be silent when you can't, and work without pretense.
And most astonishing of all, despite "the ugliest of sounds is the braying of the donkeys", the voice of the donkey remains the most truthful, while the more humans raise their voices, the more discordant they become!
