The American idea of freedom (that is almost complete freedom for every individual) is a concept that many western intellectuals accept as an axiom for a good life. Though it is right that people decide what is best for them, but many times this local decision is not good for the society/masses. In fact, many times these decisions are not good for the people themselves (ie taking drugs, driving under influence, etc.). How is it that governments can make people work towards a goal of building a nation with such freedom ?
Here is where education comes in - educated individuals are supposed to be responsible people, they enjoy their freedom but also contribute in building a strong nation (even if some people disagree with the concept of nations). But unfortunately education all over the world has reduced to just imparting technical knowledge so that children can make a living out of it. Educated people have better skills now, but the same is not true about moral values. And because of population explosion, it is difficult to make every child cultured in say a class of 100 students. Freedom in hands of such mechanical beings is dangerous. The deregulation of financial sector in US showed how these educated people can make lot of money for themselves and let the system collapse. This freedom without bounds (and irresponsible players) turns the playground into a free-for-all where the cheater always emerges the winner. I think it has been emphatically proved that extreme laissez-faire does not work when the players are themselves not fair.
At an individual level this freedom allows people to ruin their own life. A good example of this is students from India/China who come to study in US. They come from a society which has many checks and bounds (some good, some bad). In a bid to enjoy the freedom (as their American friends do), many of the students fall into a vicious trap of drugs, alcohol and sex - not because they want to do drugs but because they are weak enough to submit to peer pressure. And it is a known fact that the number of students in depression in very high. So is this a problem with American culture or the culture of India/China ? I think both. American culture has taken freedom with no responsibility to an extreme - anything extreme is not good. Indian/Chinese culture puts too many shackles on people's life, which breeds resentment. Some of the most balanced and happy people are those who have imbibed the good points of both Western and Eastern cultures, whereas we can see innumerable examples of people who have adopted the bad points of these cultures (and yet think they are better off/happy/cool). Extreme thoughts have always attracted people (like Nazi philosophy) but they have always led to destruction and pain. For those familiar with Buddhism, the middle path specified by Buddha precisely addresses this point and asks people to avoid all extremes.
Responsibility is a required trait not only for the powerful people, but also every ordinary free man. I like Barack Obama when he does stress on responsibility and discipline, hopefully he brings in this change that will benefit US a lot.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
It happens everywhere
Why is that politicians everywhere show the same kind of brash disrespect for basic morals ? Should a free society allow and tolerate the freedom to cheat ?
This video shows lawmakers in US voting for their absent friends.
This video shows lawmakers in US voting for their absent friends.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
London Times Obituary of the late Mr. Common Sense
This is an email chain that has existed for long - look at the end for the original source
'Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets theworm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend morethan you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are incharge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Elastoplast to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
This piece was first published March 15, 1998 in the Indianapolis Star. It has been "modified" and "edited" by others and circulated on the Internet. I agree with these words (not completely but to a large extent) - hopefully common sense is reborn soon.
'Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets theworm; Life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend morethan you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are incharge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Elastoplast to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.
This piece was first published March 15, 1998 in the Indianapolis Star. It has been "modified" and "edited" by others and circulated on the Internet. I agree with these words (not completely but to a large extent) - hopefully common sense is reborn soon.
Friday, February 27, 2009
The Earth Hour
Many of you would already know about this -> http://www.earthhour.org . I just want to inform people about of this event and expect this little contribution of participating in it. I hope I do not have to inform "educated" people about the dangers of global warming (go and read the IPCC report). But even without any such report, aren't the changes visible now ? I remember I used to play cricket in the summer afternoon everyday (this was in Durgapur, India). But now the summers are so hot that going out for 30 min is like the experience I had going near the blast furnace at TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Company). Not that I am not fit these days (the reason people put forth when I tell them about this) - I run 2 miles 6 days a week, and I hope that puts me in the fit category.
In fact people have all sorts of reasons not to participate in events like earth hour. Let me list some of them.
In fact people have all sorts of reasons not to participate in events like earth hour. Let me list some of them.
- This is all a fad
- Earth Hour is a symbolic act; how will it make a difference ?
- I don't believe in global warming.
- Look at my neighbor - he does not do anything and is enjoying life, why should I sacrifice.
- Ohh you see the winter in US this year - it was so severe, where is global warming ?
- This is just paranoi created by vested group of people who want business/something to suffer (typical republican view here in US)
Here is my reply
- If you can follow fads in almost everything in life, why not this ?
- Agreed this is a symbolic act. But the language of world politics is symbolism. Such acts may not make a difference quantitatively, but it makes the problem of global warming an imortant issue in the eyes of world "leaders". That will possibly lead to some real change.
- Well there is also a group of people who believe that the earth is flat - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_Society
- M.K. Gandhi once said "Be the change you want to see in the world". Change yourself, encourage others including your neighbor - your neighbor will ultimately join you, even if for the sake of following a fad.
- Read more, be more informed - global warming is not local warming. The IPCC panel says that extreme weather will increase, meaning winters may be more severe; its only the average temperature over an year that is increasing. In any statistical result local variations always exist, same is true here.
- These people are either ignorant, or else simply bad people. I have no words that can change these people - probably only a bolt of lightning from nature can cure them.
Well I hope I am able to inform many people about the earth hour through this blog, and also hopefully convince some to join the cause. Also I hope some people start understanding the problem beyond just "celebrating" such events like Earth Hour.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
An amazing, amazing world, wasted on the crappiest generation of spoiled idiots !!
I cannot agree more with this guy. This economic recession has brought upon us a reality check, but nature may bring a bigger one in few decades.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Who killed ethics ?
It has been troubling to see so much greed, here in US and in my country India. All of this has shaken the foundations of capitalism. But has greed been so widespread always ? Probably yes, there are countless stories of greed from the past. But I am very fearful of the current thought process of the common man, one which accepts and encourages unethical behavior. I had mentioned this about India in some old blog, but I find that to be true almost everywhere (now that I have seen more of the world). What is the reason ?
I have a small theory for all this. I am an agnostic person, and I believe God was invented in early times to explain things that man could not understand. Over time certain people found that this was a good concept to exploit and make people loyal to principles/men. Thus the great religions came about, though I do understand and believe the founders of these religions were great men (read the Rig Veda(Hinduism) for the astounding depth of thinking the writers had). Buddha in fact never mentioned God because he knew the truth, Buddhism was (at the start that is) only about following a certain style of life (the middle path). All the founders of religions at their time taught people to become more human. This is what is common to all religions, they try to make the masses more ethical. Obviously all religions get distorted over time and then they are reformed and so on.
But religion was the leash that turn the animal homo sapiens into human beings. This allowed humans to make great progress, including the development of science. But science was a Frankenstien, which killed religion itself.
The last few centuries saw man make so much progress in science that people did not need to believe in God to explain things. This led to a decrease in the blind following of God and hence religion, which many people consider good since people think more logically now. But this is precisely the reason that there is a breakdown in ethics. Now there is no leash to control the animal instincts. Scientific logic does not talk much about why human ethics are important (which can be logically shown to be important, and I do not show that logic here). The masses do not blindly follow religious diktats but they follow principles of survival of the fittest. While this indeed leads to the survival of the most cunning and greedy people, this does not bode well for humans overall. The greedy people may not be the most intelligent, and intelligence is what will take the human race forward.
I have a small theory for all this. I am an agnostic person, and I believe God was invented in early times to explain things that man could not understand. Over time certain people found that this was a good concept to exploit and make people loyal to principles/men. Thus the great religions came about, though I do understand and believe the founders of these religions were great men (read the Rig Veda(Hinduism) for the astounding depth of thinking the writers had). Buddha in fact never mentioned God because he knew the truth, Buddhism was (at the start that is) only about following a certain style of life (the middle path). All the founders of religions at their time taught people to become more human. This is what is common to all religions, they try to make the masses more ethical. Obviously all religions get distorted over time and then they are reformed and so on.
But religion was the leash that turn the animal homo sapiens into human beings. This allowed humans to make great progress, including the development of science. But science was a Frankenstien, which killed religion itself.
The last few centuries saw man make so much progress in science that people did not need to believe in God to explain things. This led to a decrease in the blind following of God and hence religion, which many people consider good since people think more logically now. But this is precisely the reason that there is a breakdown in ethics. Now there is no leash to control the animal instincts. Scientific logic does not talk much about why human ethics are important (which can be logically shown to be important, and I do not show that logic here). The masses do not blindly follow religious diktats but they follow principles of survival of the fittest. While this indeed leads to the survival of the most cunning and greedy people, this does not bode well for humans overall. The greedy people may not be the most intelligent, and intelligence is what will take the human race forward.
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