Daily Times

“The Game of Thrones serves as a perfect analogy to modern day society. Whether it’s based on a fictionist past, a probable future or another world completely, it captures the essence of what it means to be human perfectly”

Our region has been a victim of the Great Game between world powers: the game of deceit, proxy wars, destabilisation and espionage. With the advent of high tech warfare, the great game has indeed become a (video) game, with the ‘player’ targeting victims with a remote control, and looking at the ‘action’ on a big screen. But the Game is in fact a very old game, as old as the ‘oldest profession’ in the world. Popular TV series (now in its sixth season) is a very significant example of the primodial game of power and greed.

No wonder the series originated from the greatest player of the war games, the Great Game, The Game of Thrones. Why does one want money? For the throne, and why does one want the throne? For the money. The extremely popular Game of Thrones has changed how people view television, and can open your eyes to the hidden ways of the world. People you vie for, die mysteriously, whole families are killed, children slaughtered, wives gifted, godforsaken deals are made. All for that one throne. That one symbol of absolute power. But is there an absolute? What power does the throne have, when anyone who touches it or reins for a while is killed? What power does it have if behind the scenes someone else is in charge. Are our rulers really in charge? For that matter, is any ruler really in charge? Are the current elections in the U.S really free and fair? Did the President really have all the power, the so called most powerful man in the world? Or are there hidden hands, mysterious forces that from time immemorial have worked behind the scenes, manipulating governments, making and breaking entire nations, having many a president or dictator in their pockets. In the modern age, would these forces be called agencies? Do the people actually have any power? Was Diana killed in a road accident or was there something else? Were the world trade center bombings, the single most important event in recent history, that changed the fate of the world, really done by a few men who managed to hijack a U.S plane? Are Tahir ul Qadri and Imran Khan really agents of change, or agents of someone else? Is Musharraf branded a traitor, because he saved the nation when he was told, in exact words ‘we will bomb you back to the stone ages’? Who pulls the strings, in Pakistan, in the world. Who are these ‘masters’ to whom we are slaves? Banks, multinationals, agencies, who is all powerful? And who ultimately controls them, or is it all a circle, with no ‘Ultimate’ controller. Who controls American Agencies, the President/commander in chief, the head of intelligence, or Israel. And who controls Israel then, does Mossad control the CIA or is it the other way round. Is the US too just a pawn, a pawn in the ever widening Great Game? Who controls who is indeed as nerve racking as the ‘Game of Thrones’.

‘The Game of Thrones’ serves as a perfect analogy to modern day society. Whether it’s based on a fictionist past, a probable future or another world completely, it captures the essence of what it means to be human perfectly. It showcases us at our glorious best, and shameful worst. Just like Emperor Aurangzeb killed his brothers and sisters, and presented the head of one to his imprisoned father, so too in this ‘fictionist’ fable, sons kill fathers, brother tortures brother, incestuous relationships, wine, blood, money, power is it really a work of fiction?

Politics is a dirty business. I myself unfortunately have been in touch with some politicians, and was appalled at their disgraceful way of life. The way they think of women, even each other, is something I cannot put into words. Such a mindset will allow 50 people to die to earn some votes or a couple of million bucks. The model town incident, was it an unfortunate occurrence, or was it politically motivated? Was the recent Gulshan park blast, a usual case of a ‘terrorist’, or were politics involved. Politics, it seems, is involved in everything, and like love, can kill you. The world over, this is the pattern, and rather than reading self-help books such as ‘The Secret’ or ‘Paul cohello’, people would do good to simply read the world, and its many faces. Imagine the world as a big jackpot, and the person who kills the most wins. Welcome to politics. Here, whether you’re in America, Pakistan, Afghanistan and all the other’tans’, the rules are the same. Dirty money, blood money. If someone were to ask me what is politics all about, I would give one word: money. Dirty money, blood money. Politicians go up the ranks through money soiled with the blood of innocents. Whether it’s a blast here, a few kidnappings, a couple of murders here and there, or a mass shooting elsewhere-someone always wins, earns a bucket load, and sleeps peacefully.

Democracy is the best system, or not. Could the ideal society of yore, in fables and legends and theories, be practically possible? Could man live up to his highest potential? In a society where merit and reward is given to those who deserve it, who contribute most to society? Communism failed, and so has democracy. Can there be a third way? What we the people can do is stand up, for justice, for our rights, for our lives. After all, ‘winter is coming’. The game of Power is indeed a ‘shadowy’ business. Welcome to, The Game of Thrones.