Republicans - The Modern Kauravas

David Brooks writes in the NY Times today (July 5, 2011) that "the Republican Party may no longer be a normal party. Over the past few years, it has been infected by a faction that is more of a psychological protest than a practical, governing alternative. The members of this movement do not accept the logic of compromise, no matter how sweet the terms. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch in order to cut government by a foot, they will say no. If you ask them to raise taxes by an inch to cut government by a yard, they will still say no".

He goes on to add that "If the debt ceiling talks fail, independents voters will see that Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern. And they will be right."

Reminds me of Mahabharatha, the great Indian Epic. When The Pandavas return from their 12 year exile, the Kauravas refuse to hand over their legitimate half of the kingdom. Anxious to avoid hostilities, Yudhistra, the eldest of the Pandavas asks for just 5 villages, one for each of the Pandava brothers. To which, Duryodana, The Kaurava prince replies "I will not give even a piece of land that you can stick a pin on". Not surprisingly, war ensued and all the Kauravas perished but not without a huge carnage in which thousands died.

That, my friends, is what modern day Republicans are all about. However much President Obama and Democrats are willing to find a common ground, they will not budge an inch. Their idea of bipartsanship is taking everything and giving nothing. Their idea of politics is to stick blindly to their ideology but blame the other side of being rigid. They do not believe in proven facts but in creating 'truthism' that backs their rhetoric. They wilfully ignore the fact that it was the greedy financial institutions that caused the economic collapse and have come openly against the financial reform, particularly the consumer protection bureau (which would have gone a long way in avoiding or minimizing the mortgage crisis). They ignore the 4 trillion deficit that Bush added to the federal budget and the 27 times that the debt ceiling was raised during that same time. They ignore the tax cuts and the two wars that were never paid for, but insist that spending on education be balanced by a matching cut elsewhere. They profess that they speak on behalf of the people of this country while at the same time destroying the fabric of this nation by refusing to fund its infrastructure, education and scientific research. They repeat ad nauseum that we cannot tax those who (supposedly) create jobs while all the evidence points to the contrary. Businesses are reaping all the profits from the increase in productivity and the tax benefits and pay themselves massive bonuses while not doing anything to create the jobs. They have discarded all attempts at even mildly disguising their true motives. This is a party that has been hijacked by zealots and I sincerely hope the American people will wake up and see them for what they have truly become.

Waiting for the Mahatma

Waiting for the Mahatma (and finding him in you and everyone around you)

For the past few years, I have been watching the cycle of violence in Middle East Asia, particularly between the Palestinians and the Israelis with increasing despair. Mahatma Gandhi’s saying “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind” seemed not only being ignored but also being proved true. I used to wonder if there would arise a leader among them who will lead these people to freedom through non-violent civil disobedience. For, that is the most effective way a huge suppressed majority can overcome a militarily strong minority, as Gandhi proved in vanquishing the British.

Over the last three weeks, it seems that Eqyptians found their Mahatma. They found him in each of one of them. They found him in a carpenter named Mahmood who needed medical treatment 7 times in 24 hours for injuries suffered at the hands of government-backed mobs, and who kept tottering off to the front lines every time as soon as he was treated and bandaged.

They found him in Maged, a 64-year-old doctor who relies upon a cane to walk, who hadn’t been previously involved in the protests, but when he heard about the government’s assault on peaceful pro-democracy protesters, something snapped. So he prepared his will and then drove 125 miles to Tahrir Square to volunteer to treat the injured.

They found him in Dr. Nawal El Saadawi, an 80 year old frail but fiery Arab feminist who for decades has fought female genital mutilation and who slept among the protestors in Tahrir Square.

They found him in the young men and women who cleaned up Tahrir Square of all the clutter and garbage every day and who promised to clean up their country once Mubarak is gone.

They were determined to be peaceful in their protests. And they did not betray their cause in the face of grave provocation by government backed thugs. They gave millions of people across their region and across the world a renewed sense of hope; that you do not have to resort to violence to prove your cause. It is my fervent hope that we see more and more such Mahatmas wherever there is oppression.

Bird's Eye

Birds’ Eye

Driving to work on a Monday morning
Merging on the highway
A Flock of birds I see
Wheeling aimlessly in the bright blue sky
Circling, swooping, diving and rising
Aimlessly, as it were, with no purpose whatsoever

And I wonder what they wonder
Looking down upon us,
Thousands of cars streaming north and south,
Merging in and exiting out
Heading east or turning west
Aimlessly, as it were, with no purpose whatsoever

When I die, I will go to Earth

I live in heaven…
I am a man who gets unconditional love from my mother, wife, son, dog and friends
I am a woman whose main problem is where to shop for my next diamond ring
I am a child who has a room just for my toys

I live in hell…
I am a woman who is abused by her husband and nowhere to go
I am a teenager caught in the grips of drugs
I am a child soldier who watched his mother raped and killed and now is a killer himself

I live in heaven…
I am a man who inherited power, position and privilege
I am a woman born in wealth and married into more wealth
I am a teenager whose life path is already charted … private school, Ivy League college, investment bank, country club, private jet and yacht

I live in hell…
I am a man born in poverty and likely to die poor
I am a woman who depends on food stamps to feed her children
I am a teenager whose life path is already charted … school dropout, gang violence, petty thief, drug pusher, habitual criminal

I live in heaven…
I live in an affluent democracy with a free press and can make a meaningful choice about my government
I have uninterrupted power, clean running water and free public libraries
I cut the trees to prevent forest fires near my vacation home

I live in hell…
I live in a poor theocracy with a captive press and have no say in who rules me
I have to walk 10 miles to fetch water and have never read a book in my life
I cut the trees to feed my family

I live in heaven…
I removed my belly fat through surgery, lifted the wrinkles from my face and look forever young
I visit my therapist to get rid of my insecurities

I live in hell…
I have a protruding stomach from chronic malnutrition, a face lined with despair and look 50 when I am just 30
I lost my child to fever because there is no doctor within 100 miles.

One day I will die and I will go to Earth
Where everybody is kind to each other (is there reason to be anything else?)
Where every child has the opportunity to realize his or her true potential
Where there is no place for poverty or extreme wealth
Where people seek to be respected for their good deeds, not for their sale deeds
One day I will die and I will go to Earth
And I will rest in peace