Friday, July 15, 2005

Write or Wrong?

This is a contrversial blog. I'm sure there will be a few people who agree with me and a lot who don't. We live in a day and age where we are surrounded by so many things that catch our attention that it makes us almost oblivious to somethings in life. Some basic rules.

Growing up, I was always taught "values". I love my parents and I respect them for what they have achieved in their lives. I also love them for instilling in me an instinct to judge right from wrong. But what has been bothering me is, what is right and wrong? And should I stir the hornet's nest by writing and questioning?

If killing a person is wrong, then why are our soldiers celebrated for generations to come? Why is adultery such a bad thing? Why is being gay an anti-faith concept?

The root of all these answers lies in our repeatedly re-written religious scriptures. Men preaching whats right and wrong to other men and millions following blind-folded. Propaganda and more propaganda. Some old farts thought of their own convenience, devised a mechanism of mass-control, wrote a few lines which included flowery adjectives, notarized it with a seal of religious approval and expected that everyone under the blue sky would live by that. How does that work? When we go to a doctor for treatment, does he give everyone the same medicine?

The easy thing to do is fall prey to this mundane life, earn money, have babies and die peacefully leaving behind wealth for the family. The difficult thing to do is question. I'm the first person to admit that I also fall into the bracket of people who do the easy thing, but does that make it the right thing is what disturbs me? Its not ok to pull the plug on a Terri Schiavo but it is ok to slaughter hundreds of thousands in the name of democracy?Adultery, is considered a grave crime. Why can't it be treated like murder where its acceptable in some cases and not in others? Straight people can have a 50% divorce ratio but gay people can't even be married?

What's even more frustrating is that after writing this blog, I would have managed to vent some of my frustration, but nothing changes. Life goes on. Paychecks come in. But hopefully, it just cultivates a little more tolerance and understanding in me about not judging things for what they seem and being open-minded.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you meant right or wrong :P neways...

Now you're talking my language. Just wrote a poem about that.

The point my friend, is not watz right or wrong. Itz about what YOU believe. Nobody wants to do the wrong thing but if they know they are going to regret it at some point of time... they need to re think it. Everything can be argued to be right as well as wrong. It is really about what matters to you.
Social norms help little... your conscience helps more to decide which route you should choose.

Gaurav said...

Not really... I meant it like that. Whether to write about it or accept it and move on. Also, I don't know who you are. You're welcome to comment anonymously but it would be nice if I knew!

Himani said...

Hmmm... now I get it.

It seems anonymity fetches a lot of interest :) Too bad as thatz not what I am looking for.

Gaurav said...

LOL ... Not really. Anonymity has an initial aura of mystery around it. But if it continues for too long, then it just gets boring!

Anonymous said...

Hahahah…have you seen that one episode of the Simpson’s where Lisa is in school and she keeps questioning everything the teacher says etc., and every time she does so, the teacher, under her desk, presses the “Independent thought alarm” that warns the principle..?? It is hilarious.

But in all seriousness, I think it is pretty damn hard to be ignorant these days. It actually takes a lot of work to live in oblivion.

Immanuel Kant, the great German philosopher once said "Sapere Aude - Have the Courage to Be Wise". And it is true you, it DOES take a lot of courage to be wise, to question, to know...many people are intellectually lazy and seek out cognitive consistency when building their philosophy and point of view and attitude towards issues in life – personal or political. It is difficult to argue with sociologists who claim that the self is what others perceive it to be, that the environment has constructed the individual through "socialization" , the majority of his thoughts, his attitude towards life...everything. Socialization is a powerful thing and not be underestimated. It does take courage to be wise, cause life slaps you silly if you are…

Although not wanting to necessarily bash all religious people (mainly so cause I fear the verbal crucification of such religion bashing and not necessarily cause of the immense respect I have for those who are drugged by the opiate of the masses). But look at the last election for example: the main reason for most people (especially in the Midwest or south) to vote for Bush has been the stance Republicans have taken on gay marriage and abortion, and not, as one would expect, because of economic issues or the fact that two unplanned, bloody, and expensive wars have been waged in the past 3 years, costing hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. It is like this country is drowning in the huge national deficit created as a result of the war and tax cuts for the millionaires, schools are under funded, over 50 million people have no health care, hard won civil liberties are being slowly eroded and taken away (i.e. Patriot Act), the President lies blatantly ot the public, and some hick in the south, who btw is starving cause of the economic realities created by our idiot-in-chief, has nothing better to do than vote on an issues that makes the life of some people deemed unworthy by the Bible difficult. Kind of like “nevermind I don’t have a job and am poor, as long as gay people don’t get to marry and as long as women are forced to have unwanted children”. ???

I mean these people are not making decisions based on right or wrong or even logic, they make decisions based on fear: they are dirt poor, they have nothing, no prospects, the economy is down the drain, if they lose their job unemployment practically non-existent. They have nothing to either show for or hold on to. So what do they do, they turn to the opiate of the masses; religion. That is the only thing that gives them hope and purpose, no matter how ignorant and devastating its implications for the well being of a large number of people or even themselves!! And this is how it has been right down throughout history. From the Inquisition ot the crusades to witch burning, colonialism until now. They have totally bought into the right wing religious neo-conservative propaganda of the Bush administration and are willing to go all the way – even if that means putting the US back to the Middle Ages and aiming the metal coat hanger industry have another boom. So I guess my point here is that often people’s decisions are not based on a clear right or wrong, moral or immoral, it is based on existential uncertainty. In these hard times, the Bible, no matter how unrealistic, sexist and far fetched, just gives them something. We all need a purpose right, and if you have nothing and hope and promises are taken away, you turn to faith cause existential uncertainty is frightening, not ot mention it takes courage to be wise and see beyond the curtains of society. They don’t bother questioning and frankly I don’t even think they want to know.

A lot of things don’t make sense to me these days either, like wanting to save the “life’ of an unborn accumulation of cells at the detriment of the mother’s life, no matter what. Who will take care of this baby once it is out of the womb? Definitely not republicans and their detrimental social policies that dont even provide basics like health care to most people. Who will feed and educate this child? The Dick Cheney Haliburton fund?? And how come in cases of incest and rape, abortion should be allowed? I mean the whole reasoning of those pro-lifer is that life is sacred no matter what and that we as humans ought not to make judgments. But then they make arbitrary judgments about whose life is worth saving. In this case, all of a sudden the life of a child conceived though rape and incest is deemed unworthy. So we CAN make judgments, just not the kind of judgments that goes against bigotry and the crap cited in the Bible. You call that hypocrisy and inconsistency, you bet! All comes down to social construct. We make it, we can break it. Most people don’t want to cause questioning and examining might actually open doors that they don’t want opened cause that would mean they would actually have to take responsibility and could on longer blame the Bible or refer ot any other “text” to justify their behavior.

Sorry rajani, my comment turned out to be longer than yours. Just rambling I think. Oh this is Lili btw. And I am not the anonymous person from top.

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Anonymous said...

Alessandra
Abortion is totally not ordained by God.We must stop killing a baby that's inocent.We are humans and we just can't imagine if how about your mother had done this with you, I know is hard to think about it,but let's stop killing human being because we are also humans and you never know if you are capable to have another baby in your life after you've killed one...ect...