It Is Not Them Versus Us!

I guess that some of my articles have created an impression of me being anti-west. This is certainly not the case. We live in an age where we are asked to take black and white, and often over simplistic stances. Objecting to lopsided globalization, gets you branded as a commie. The truth is I don’t see the west as our enemy. I love their books, watch their movies and appreciate the individualistic western mind. We wear their clothes and speak their language, and this cultural exchange between the west and the east are certainly healthy. We need to progress towards humanity as one. The citizens of some of the nations whose policy’s I oppose to are also victims of their government’s decisions . They are told half-truths and lies, by their ruling classes who do a excellent job of selling them the them vs us spiel. I cannot speak about eastern society as a whole, but certainly as far as urban India (which controls the rest of this country) is concerned opposing ‘liberalization’ makes you several things from a hypocrite to being anti progress! I honestly believe that, people who feel very comfortable in their little cozy zones and are in denial about anything existing outside it, are threatened by leftist thinking. Leftist. This is not equal to Communist or Stalinist or what ever else it is conveniently assumed to be. It is raising one's voice in protest against exploitation and vested interests in various forms and disguises. It is questioning mindless carnage, both ecological and human perpetrated in the name of development. I hope attempting to project a more real picture of what happens in the name of citizens, “for whom” their governments are working, does not make you bad! Stating that Bush and Hussein are both deranged despots is merely stating the truth and does not make you anti-American and “backward thinking”. We live in strange times. I am sure lots of you are jumping to point out the million contradictions and compromises in my life. Since when did one have to become an unworldly and renunciated soul to have a certain worldview? Acknowledging that one is used to a particular way of life, and yet believing that we must weed out the elements that need weeding out in the world, is far less pretentious. And for the nth time it is not them versus us! It is all of us, who believe in a fairer, more equal world versus the enemies of a civilized and equitable world.