I have been thinking about what paradise would be for a gazelle and a lion. For a lion, paradise perhaps would be full of gazelles that they could hunt and eat. For a gazelle, perhaps it would be without lions and plenty of grass to eat.
Sometimes we find ourselves in situations where we are the gazelles and in some predator’s paradise. For example, patriarchy created a paradise for men in which they are thriving. The patriarchal system ensures that the bodies, psyche and labour of women are exploited to benefit men. Some men make an effort to speak out against this exploitation, but the system still favours and benefit them.
Another example is apartheid South Africa until 11 February 1990. Apartheid in South Africa was a system that created a paradise for white people. They were feeding off the labour and suffering of Black people. Black people were moved out of their homes and into ghettos to create a white’s only paradise. The apartheid system also ensured that their children and international visitors did not see the poverty and suffering they created.
And this brings me to the question: Does paradise exist? I believe one’s sense of paradise is subjective. In most cases, one’s paradise is based on one’s likes and dislikes. We have become a society where everything is supposed to go our way. If it does not, we find ways to make it go our way, even if that means harming humans and the natural environment.
So what is the paradise that some religions promise, and for how long would it be possible to maintain a sense of paradise before one become bored and hope one die. Once one experiences pain, eternal joy is just as painful as eternal pain.
So is it a paradise without predators and emotion? I don’t know. You tell me.
JACOB CLOETE 