Einstein on Nationalism

"Nationalism is an infantile disease, the measles of mankind." - A.H.Einstein

Identity bereft

If a nation is to be an amalgamation of various cultural communities, does it then have to rely on a nationalism as the only source of a common identity for its citizens. Is that a strong enough identity to pull people together even during times of peace ?

This is an even tougher problem for communities where the diversity of origins is still freshly established. In this case the ideal argument of "your identity as part of the community" will bind you to your neighbours" doesnt hold water. Because its very easy to perceive the neighbour in the same image as a xenophobic leader having similar cultural background as the neighbour. Dialogue in the community is very important in these cases. On who does the onus lie to facilitate the dialogue. Looks like its for the betterment of both the incoming and the already resident communities.

However if they have separate financial identities then the opportunities for dialogue is so much reduced. How will then the newcomers or their progeny understand the resident or vice-versa. Looks like state intervention could help these things make faster progress.

 

 

Khaleej Times Columnist - noamchomsky

Doubtless Teheran merits harsh condemnation, certainly for severe domestic repression and the inflammatory rhetoric of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (who has little to do with foreign affairs). It is, however, useful to ask how Washington would act if Iran had invaded and occupied Canada and Mexico, overthrown the governments there, slaughtered scores of thousands of people, deployed major naval forces in the Caribbean and issued credible threats to destroy the United States if it did not immediately terminate its nuclear energy programs (and weapons). Would we watch quietly? After the United States invaded Iraq, "Had the Iranians not tried to build nuclear weapons, they would be crazy," said Israeli military historian Martin van Creveld.

<http://www.khaleejtimes.com/ColumnistHomeNew.asp?section=noamchomsky&col=yes>

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Thank you come again - Simpson Apu controversy

I totally wasn't aware of this:

Manish Vij of Ultrabrown has been covering, in detail, the controversy over the upcoming Simpsons movie where one of the Simpsons characters , Apu, is being used in the movie promotion in a manner that is being considered by some to be racist and stereotypical.
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In anticipation of the release of the Simpsons movie, "Seven Eleven", a chain of American stores, ironically known to hire South Asian immigrants, has launched a promotion by which 11 Seven Elevens have been converted into the mythical Kwik-E-Mart where Apu, played by the South Asian employee does the trademark "Thank you come again" routine. The promotion has been very successful, with sales in comparison to the same time last year having been double in the "converted" Seven Elevens.

http://greatbong.net/2007/07/15/thanking-for-coming-again/#more-428
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dothead
abc-news link

India Rising

Yahaan

This is not yet another film on Kashmir. It does not highlight gun-toting terrorists, those pretty green gardens, the breathtaking Dal Lake, houseboats and chinar trees.

It digs deep into the "real problems" of food, shelter and economics of the local people living in areas beyond the Dal Lake.

The places that were never shown in films claiming to be on Kashmir and its problems, joys and sorrows. And these are the places where displaced and frightened Kashmiris actually live. [http://hindujobs.com/thehindu/fr/2005/07/22/stories/2005072202720300.htm ]

My 2 cents :
I knew at the back of my  mind that locals would probably not be very fond of anyone involved in the highly unstable situation in Kashmir. This movie really shows what local Kashmiris feel for Indian Jawans. Looks like Shoojit Sircar has done a decent job of shining light on the every life and problems of the Kashmiri. Good work by the actors, good music, very good screenplay and reasonable dialogues.

The situation of people in Kashmir is so similar to the situation of people in West-Bank or Gaza, isn't it? A father wants to provide for his family. A kid wants a normal upbringing where he plays Cricket or Football and not "throw stones at the Jew".  Young people want to fall in love and live freely. All these thoughts and desires are muffled by the rat-a-tat of the guns and the extreme calls of various religions. Complex human societies where people specialized, elected governments looked out for broader good, laws were agreed upon for convenience on an average, also seem to beget parasites who exploit the workings of the system to maximize personal benefits of very few. Did stricter enforcement of laws in settings of organized religion intend to prevent this corruption of the members? I don't think so. Most of them seem to evolve as solutions to personal well-being rather than as solutions to societal problems.

What if, with the help of technology we can evolve a society where all information is very very easily accessible in the most convenient and easy to use formats ? Would this push societies to evolve in directions where violent transgressions are penalized, because ultimately it does not benefit the human race and thus the majority of the world.

Thinking Pvt Ltd.

I am sometimes shocked ( and almost always very disturbed)  by the completely bigoted views expressed by some fellow Indian friends. How can education not teach us to open ourselves and become more tolerant. Why is the human brain unable to question seemingly the most illogical of things ? I think its well known that good intentions of educational systems can be easily subverted by teachings/workings of the social system. However what seems to strike me even harder is the ability of an otherwise rational brain to unquestioningly stick to the extreme,bigoted viewpoint in the face of a highly rational and practical argument. Does this mean that these people have limited mental faculties and they can be only rational upto a certain point and not beyond that ? It scares me to think of approaching such a cliff.

Change in Men

"Men do not change, they unmask themselves,"
- Anonymous swiss writer.

Maybe this is an extreme simplification but some changes do look like unmasking. Also the context in which I read this is when someone is talking about knowing more (bad things) about a friend (Dick Cheney in this case) of his.