We are all curious, we ask questions and we want to know why things are the way they are. We look for explanations and try to understand them. We want to know how things work, how people think and act and why they do so, we want to know how universe and space was created. But when I was asked at the age of 13 whether I knew what caused thunder, I confidently said I had read that it was caused by the sudden expansion and contraction of air by high temperature caused by the lightning. Too many heavy words there isn't it? So a relative of mine who was over sixty gently corrected me saying it was caused by collision of clouds.
I refused to accept that answer and it was a good decision since it prevented me from making a mistake at this year's Civil Service Prelims. But I was not confident enough about my answer which was in fact right. Why do most of us still think and accept that very simple explanation of clouds colliding against each other to cause thunder? We like explanations, but we prefer them to be simple ones which are easy to understand.
The same tendency characterises our debate on why there are sexual assaults in India- Indian men are sexually repressed, it is the caste system and poverty. I guess there are no rapes in USA (a) and rest of the world. No doubts that it is a crime and it reeks of inequality and a superiority complex of men, but it is also a worldwide problem. Simplistic explanations mean we do not address the real issue- the inability to respect equality! The solution should begin at home and like in all crimes, better policing can only deter such crimes, not prevent them physically. Majority of such crimes are perpetrated by individuals known to the victim and that too in a place generally considered safe. So policing has little role here. One thing that we must stop is blaming the victim and further traumatising the person.
The simple explanation for India's economic trouble is conveniently heaped on a socialistic pattern. Only the completely ignorant would call India a socialist nation now. We needed the initial socialism which was also supported by the corporates of the time and it was the dominant worldview. But we went too far with it and did not make necessary corrections while running the course. We persisted with a good idea to turn sour and saw it become a villain (reminiscent of The Dark Knight- you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain). Socialism is not the issue, but is a convenient scapegoat.
We then blame democracy for India's perils while we praise and aspire for an American Dream and superpower status, forgetting that it is a democracy. We say our government has too much power while forgetting that it is even bigger a government in the USA with the state hand in glove with corporate interests, violating human rights at every turn, perpetuating racism and killing with impunity.
Combined with the need for a simple explanation is the need to appear knowledgable and intellectually superior and so we gobble up these simplistic theories to satiate our appetite and to appear healthy. A little knowledge though is a dangerous and a simple explanation will do more harm than good.
I refused to accept that answer and it was a good decision since it prevented me from making a mistake at this year's Civil Service Prelims. But I was not confident enough about my answer which was in fact right. Why do most of us still think and accept that very simple explanation of clouds colliding against each other to cause thunder? We like explanations, but we prefer them to be simple ones which are easy to understand.
The same tendency characterises our debate on why there are sexual assaults in India- Indian men are sexually repressed, it is the caste system and poverty. I guess there are no rapes in USA (a) and rest of the world. No doubts that it is a crime and it reeks of inequality and a superiority complex of men, but it is also a worldwide problem. Simplistic explanations mean we do not address the real issue- the inability to respect equality! The solution should begin at home and like in all crimes, better policing can only deter such crimes, not prevent them physically. Majority of such crimes are perpetrated by individuals known to the victim and that too in a place generally considered safe. So policing has little role here. One thing that we must stop is blaming the victim and further traumatising the person.
The simple explanation for India's economic trouble is conveniently heaped on a socialistic pattern. Only the completely ignorant would call India a socialist nation now. We needed the initial socialism which was also supported by the corporates of the time and it was the dominant worldview. But we went too far with it and did not make necessary corrections while running the course. We persisted with a good idea to turn sour and saw it become a villain (reminiscent of The Dark Knight- you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain). Socialism is not the issue, but is a convenient scapegoat.
We then blame democracy for India's perils while we praise and aspire for an American Dream and superpower status, forgetting that it is a democracy. We say our government has too much power while forgetting that it is even bigger a government in the USA with the state hand in glove with corporate interests, violating human rights at every turn, perpetuating racism and killing with impunity.
Combined with the need for a simple explanation is the need to appear knowledgable and intellectually superior and so we gobble up these simplistic theories to satiate our appetite and to appear healthy. A little knowledge though is a dangerous and a simple explanation will do more harm than good.
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