Sunday, March 26, 2017

To understand is not to condone

If I understand why people need religion, do I support it? If I understand why religion makes people kill other human beings without having any remorse, do I support such killings? If I argue for some issues propagated by some particular political party, do I support that political party? During regular discussions, while discussing various social and political issues whenever I try to argue about a less popular side or another side of the issue, people often misunderstand that I support the side about which I am arguing. The explanation, that I don't support that side, but I understand it and I want to bring those points into discussion doesn't register very well with most people. Many think that you cannot argue for any side unless you support it. Well, this may be true with many people, but not with me. During any discussion, if there is no representation for another side of the issue then there is no point in discussing that topic. There are very few topics about which there is universal condemnation but for all others, it is very important to know about all sides before drawing any conclusions. As Alan Dershowitz puts this in his book, Letters to a Young Lawyer, he writes, "To understand is not to condone, but to enlighten and perhaps to prevent the same mistake others have made." It is very important to understand that "to understand is not to condone." There is a huge difference between understanding any issue, arguing about it, or representing it in any debate, and wholeheartedly supporting it. 

For me monotonous discussions are boring. I am not interested in praising any political party or political leader unconditionally to the level of worshipping them and projecting as if things what I support are the ONLY right things. I also don't like venomous one-sided criticisms without much rationale and logic to an extent to project things in an extremely bad light. I like to have a representation from another side, if there is no one, then I volunteer to represent that side. In a liberal group, I try to represent the conservative side, and in a conservative group, I try to bring up the liberal point of view. This makes it possible to see why people criticize some particular ideology and how rational their criticism is. Very often people consider me a supporter of that particular ideology or political group (the group they oppose), which is wrong. Yes, I do have certain political preferences, but I don't support any particular political party.

Many people don't understand the importance of having a representation from another side in a discussion. This is particularly challenging in political discussions, as a politically independent person, if you try to argue the good and bad points of each political side, people often get confused. The normal expectation is that a person will choose a particular political party or a leader and defend or attack them vehemently. People try to support their chosen party, no matter what, and try to criticize their opponents, no matter what. But, if they don't see such a clear loyalty or animosity, they get confused. I have been the victim of such confusion many times. I don't mind this, as many times this is an unavoidable situation. I feel that if people understand and learn to look at both sides and try to understand the good and bad points of both the sides in any argument or debate, we will see much less political polarization and much more bipartisan collaboration.

There is no ideology or political party which is perfect with answers to all the problems. Very often best answers to questions are scattered through all over the political spectrum and we need to consider many issues before making a final decision on any major policy issues. But very often the political supporters of these leaders and parties don't understand this and fall in a trap of political polarization to the advantage of these parties and leaders. Polarization always helps someone to win an election, but it rarely helps a nation to move forward. Please understand the need to be fair to people whom you criticize, it is very necessary to understand the opponent's points of view clearly to be able to criticize it properly. Otherwise, that criticism has no value other than political rhetoric or angry passionate rants, which can be used in politically charged speeches for the supporters of that own party but are useless for any conducive political policy discussion. Try to understand opponents' views first, before commenting about them, maybe it will help to shape your own views in a much better way.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Friday, March 10, 2017

Déjà vu - the politics of hatred

The murder of an Indian immigrant in Kansas City was a very disturbing incident. This unfortunate incident got a lot of media coverage in India, obviously, this was due to a strong Indian connection to this event. Many relatives from India of people living in the USA got concerned because of this incident and I am sure it created a situation of panic in some people's families back in India. It is very sad to see anyone killed like this. Many feel that this murder was the result of an atmosphere of hatred or resentment against immigrants. There is a strong perception that the current administration is anti-immigrant, which I don't think is true. This anti-immigrant perception is created based on some strong statements made by Mr. Trump during his presidential election campaign. For me personally, these things are like a replay of a similar migrant resentment phase that I witnessed in the state of Maharashtra in India. I even wrote a post about the politics of pitching one section of society against another and expressed concerns about it before the presidential election. This political gamble worked in Maharashtra and there was no reason why it wouldn't work the same way in the USA. The statements made during the election or the rhetoric used during campaign speeches help leaders and their parties to win elections. They substantiate and solidify their support by creating a very polarized political environment. But, after winning that election some leaders and parties find it difficult to control that anger and contain the hatred of the supporters who voted for them just due to those feelings. After the election, somehow these people who voted just for that particular rhetoric of hatred feel vindicated and get the notion that their feelings are now legitimized and they have the right to execute their agenda.

These types of incidents are disturbing, but they don't define the character of this great nation. The USA is a very immigrant-friendly country. Immigrants feel safe and welcomed here and most of them try to contribute positively to the society and community where they live. The person who risked his life to save two immigrants from this murder was also an American, and I have no doubt that many in this country will try their best to protect their fellow residents. Whether to attribute this incident to a change of regime or not is can be debated Even in India, few people were killed for being a Muslim (Pune techie murder) or for allegedly eating beef (Akhlak murder). When my mom came to know about this incident, she freaked out and asked me why I wanted to stay in the USA? My simple answer was, I love this country, my kids are citizens of this country, and I don't think there is any better place than this country for people like me. Due to my political and social views, I can be a target in any country that doesn't encourage freedom of expression. I don't subscribe to ANY ideology, I am not a member of ANY political party and I don't follow ANY particular religion, and this makes me vulnerable to attack from anyone who doesn't like my views or feels offended by them. In this country at least I have the freedom to express my views without being threatened just for expressing my opinion. The recent case of Gurmehar Kaur might explain what I mean.

As far as feelings of hatred and resentment are concerned, I understand their origin and reasons behind them, and they are common no matter where you live in the world. Resentment will get diluted once the economy gets going, but the politics of hatred is what worries me. If some group gets targeted just because of who they are, then they don't stand any chance to defend themselves. No one should be forced to change their identity just to survive. If people have to change their name, religion, or skin color just to survive then I don't think that country is a free country anymore. I hope this murder was an isolated incident and that the people of the US still believe in their inclusive and tolerant tradition of welcoming immigrants. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Five years!

Today is the fifth anniversary of my blog. The last five years of my journey with this blog have been an amazing experience for me. I wish to thank all blog readers for their encouragement and appreciation, your feedback and shared experiences made this blog more special. Last year I wrote 40 posts, which was almost half compared to the previous year. It was not because I didn't want to write, but I got busy with my studies and there was not much time to spend on writing the blog. This trend might continue for some time. It is not easy to manage full-time work, part-time studies, and family responsibilities together. I am trying to strike that sweet balance and at the same time enjoying this phase a lot. It is stressful and demanding but at the same time very good learning experience. The main reason I can do this is because I always enjoyed learning about new subjects and new areas. This adds new perspectives to my life and improves my knowledge. It is difficult to balance so many things at the same time but at the same time, it is a very exciting and rewarding experience. I do plan to continue writing blog posts on relevant topics as time permits.

A lot is happening around us socially and politically. We need to continuously register our opinions about things that we care about, the values we hold dear to our hearts, and protest against any injustice. Many times it's not easy, it feels like our one voice won't make any difference, but remember that many revolutions started with that one voice that dared to resist. Anyone of us can be that one voice that can initiate the change, we just need to have that courage and commitment. My blog is one small step in that direction, the aim is not just to share my views, but also to start a healthy discussion, germinate a seed of independent thinking in the readers' minds, and hope that it will create a novel stream of thoughts which might help to initiate the change for better tomorrow. This effort will definitely continue from my side. At this junction, when I pause and look back on my efforts to initiate that change, I feel quite good about it and want to thank the readers of the blog once again for encouraging me to continue this amazing journey. I am deeply honored by your support and encouragement. I always try my best to answer your questions and will continue doing so. I am glad to read that many of you have got something useful from this blog and I hope you continue to benefit by reading this blog in the future also.

This journey will continue from my side, I invite all of you also to share your opinions and voice your concerns on whatever platforms you can. Let's try to make this world a better place, full of more love, more compassion, more tolerance, and more people who value the liberty and freedom of others.

Thank you very much for your cooperation and happy reading.