Say “I do”

Eleven states in the United States say “I do” to same-sex marriage. If the remaining thirty-nine states echo the same thing, the United States will become the 13th nation globally to approve same-sex marriage. Countries like the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and nine others have already legalized same-sex marriage and are leading the way for the rest of the world to follow.

Well there are some nations which are debating the issue on same-sex marriage and this gives us hope that indeed it will be legally approved in these countries. What about those that ban any kind of same-sex activity in the first place. When are they going to recognize the LGBT community, and at least begin to discuss about their rights.

Every nation boasts about its human rights and civil rights laws. But when we don't recognize the sexual orientation of a community, these laws are mere paralyzed words which are written to only look good on paper.

Why do we have to leave the decision of a person's sexual orientation in the hands of a few straight people in authority. Who is anyone to decide whether their sexual orientation is right or wrong. For the United States to have a unanimous decision, it takes 50 state authorities controlled by a few straight people to say I-do before it is approved. So now we also want to control a person’s right to be who he/she naturally is. It’s even more chaotic when one state legalizes same-sex marriage, and then a few miles away from there, in another state, the LGBT community is asked to seek religious or medical intervention to straighten up. How absurd is that!

In the recent poll conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post, more than half Americans support same-sex marriage and the support only seems to be growing. This indeed is good news.

Around the world, the LGBT community is not only fighting a political battle but also a religious one. In April this year, Uruguay, New Zealand and France recognized same-sex marriage. Even a month back, two states in the US—Delaware and Rhode Island—approved same-sex marriage. Minnesota likely will approve it soon. It’s all about speaking out. It's like this domino effect.

Back in the day President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defines marriage is between a man and a woman. After over seventeen years today Clinton says he was wrong and calls for striking down the act. I don't really want to get into the context of politics in this sudden change in tune on gay marriage. True that it's never too late to accept your mistake, but what took Clinton so-so long.

I disagree when people say the LGBT community has evolved over the years and the administration needs to change with changing times. The truth is, the LGBT community never evolved. They always existed. It's only that they didn't come out and speak so freely about it for fear of being ridiculed in society.

What does the man on the street have to say about it? I went to find out. Listen to it here. Click link

Post script:
Changing track to something completely different…does anyone know where Kim Jong Un is these days?  I don’t see him occupy the cartoon section of any print or electronic media. Why? :-)


Say “I do”

Eleven states in the United States say “I do” to same-sex marriage. If the remaining thirty-nine states echo the same thing, the United States will become the 13th nation globally to approve same-sex marriage. Countries like the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and nine others have already legalized same-sex marriage and are leading the way for the rest of the world to follow.

Well there are some nations which are debating the issue on same-sex marriage and this gives us hope that indeed it will be legally approved in these countries. What about those that ban any kind of same-sex activity in the first place. When are they going to recognize the LGBT community, and at least begin to discuss about their rights.

Every nation boasts about its human rights and civil rights laws. But when we don't recognize the sexual orientation of a community, these laws are mere paralyzed words which are written to only look good on paper.

Why do we have to leave the decision of a person's sexual orientation in the hands of a few straight people in authority. Who is anyone to decide whether their sexual orientation is right or wrong. For the United States to have a unanimous decision, it takes 50 state authorities controlled by a few straight people to say I-do before it is approved. So now we also want to control a person’s right to be who he/she naturally is. It’s even more chaotic when one state legalizes same-sex marriage, and then a few miles away from there, in another state, the LGBT community is asked to seek religious or medical intervention to straighten up. How absurd is that!

In the recent poll conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post, more than half Americans support same-sex marriage and the support only seems to be growing. This indeed is good news.

Around the world, the LGBT community is not only fighting a political battle but also a religious one. In April this year, Uruguay, New Zealand and France recognized same-sex marriage. Even a month back, two states in the US—Delaware and Rhode Island—approved same-sex marriage. Minnesota likely will approve it soon. It’s all about speaking out. It's like this domino effect.

Back in the day President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defines marriage is between a man and a woman. After over seventeen years today Clinton says he was wrong and calls for striking down the act. I don't really want to get into the context of politics in this sudden change in tune on gay marriage. True that it's never too late to accept your mistake, but what took Clinton so-so long.

I disagree when people say the LGBT community has evolved over the years and the administration needs to change with changing times. The truth is, the LGBT community never evolved. They always existed. It's only that they didn't come out and speak so freely about it for fear of being ridiculed in society.

What does the man on the street have to say about it? I went to find out. Listen to it here. Click link

Post script:
Changing track to something completely different…does anyone know where Kim Jong Un is these days?  I don’t see him occupy the cartoon section of any print or electronic media. Why? :-)


Not politically galvanized…

As a woman I am devastated that in this age when women are working harder to achieve the unachievable, in areas of education, sports, politics, service sectors, science and technology, they also face routine abuse both mentally and physically. Today a 23-year old medical student lost her life after a thirteen-day battle against physical injuries inflicted on her. She was a girl like any girl next door, who woke up one fine morning, left home to watch a movie, but sadly never returned. She wanted to live like any twenty-three year old youth with aspirations to make it big…someone who wanted to live an exciting life ahead. But her battered body asked her to give-up her fight to live. She was called a gang-rape victim in death. She was severely beaten, gang-raped and thrown out of a moving bus.  Even wild animals are so well-behaved. What has happened to sections of society in my India? How can they commit such insensitive inhumane crimes? 

If I was in India today, perhaps I would also join thousands of people in India who have come out to express their grief for the girl who was sexually assaulted to death. This is not the first time that a girl has been raped in India. These heinous crimes on women happen almost every single day across India. Then, what is different in this crime that has galvanized middle-class citizens across the length and breadth of India, especially the youth, to come out in solidarity to grieve over the death of a braveheart? Let me say it loud and clearly, it is the hope for change. 

Safety of women is an issue all across the world. Sexual assaults happen all across the globe. Every nation has laws to punish the guilty who commit such heinous crimes, and so does India. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) already has strict punishments for rapists, but in spite of having a strong comprehensive code that covers all substantive aspects of criminal law, the time until the guilty are punished is delayed, and justice delayed is justice denied. 

The justice delivery system in India is in bad shape. 30 million cases are still pending in various courts and it takes an average time span of 15 years to get the dispute resolved through court system. This is what is different in India's judiciary from the rest of the developed world. People who commit such heinous crimes are not afraid anymore. In these thirteen days that this girl has been battling in different hospitals at New Delhi and Singapore, none of the leaders gave any assurances to fast-track the case. There was no action plan chalked out by our leaders. Worst, none of them came out to speak to the outraged crowds. It doesn’t take much to speak to people who have been hurt…all it takes is a conscience! 

Apart from this, our society needs to grow up with these changing times. A woman is no longer just a homemaker 24x7, rather she is a career-oriented woman with loads of aspirations. She wants to make it big in today's world. Hence society needs to grow up to this very fact. Women are no longer just mothers, daughters, wives, or sisters...they are independent women of today. And to support their aspirations, the executive, legislative, judiciary, you and me, need to support her by assuring her safety at any time of the day. More so, equal status for women should begin at home. Moms and Dads should instill an equal status for a child whether boy or a girl. 

Even today rape survivors are stigmatized by society. These heinous crimes have unfortunately also driven rape victims to suicide in shame. It is good to see that this one braveheart girl has changed this status-quo. Hope, we will have many women coming out openly to speak about the injustice and atrocities done to them. Media is the reflection of society and not the other way around. Media violence equally poses a threat to public health in as much as it leads to an increase in real-world violence and aggression. I am ashamed at this shame. We talk big about our booming economy, make significant contribution at world economic forums, but, we can’t protect our women.

Whenever I emphasize on the pressing need for women empowerment and her representation in the government, institutions, and corporate world, I am labeled as a radical feminist. So be it. When I talk about the need to do more for women in a predominantly patriarchal society, I don’t mean giving her extra privileges or honor of the quota system at all. It is about giving equal status to women, by assuring her of safety and justice at all times. 

A thumbs up to women who came out in large numbers to grieve over the condition of the girl and demand change, but more so, I salute the men folks who joined the crowds to speak in solidarity for women. Salutations!

Post script
Anna Hazare steered the non-violent movement in India in demand for a strong Lokpal Bill. The Bill may have not been employed, but Hazare has been instrumental in awakening the people of India, especially the youth, to come out on the streets and speak up for their rights.

The innocent lives lost

The world is battered and ailing with terrorism of a different kind. The terrorism of gun shooting incidents, in which, an individual who has been living a normal life like one of us suddenly comes out on a mass shooting rampage killing people randomly is hard to fathom? Today public areas, educational institutes, and places of worship have become places that we fear going to. What if? Is the question we ask ourselves? What if, someone comes on a rampage while we are enjoying a film? What if someone puts the gun to our head while we are attentively sitting in a class and taking down notes? What if someone creates a chaos while we are praying at a temple or a church? What if….and my list goes on?

 

I’m not a mother, but I am a daughter, a grand-daughter, and a sister of my parents, my grand-parents and my siblings, and I exactly know how it feels to lose a loved one. Even more, it pains, when victims of these gruesome mass shootings are six and seven year olds who don’t understand why someone out there is hurting them. These crazy routine incomprehensible mass shootings are only increasing by the day, be it the April 1999 incident when two heavily-armed teenagers went on a rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, killing 13 students and staff, or the July 2011 incident when a gunman blew up a government building in Oslo and then opened fire at a youth summer camp of Norway's ruling political party, on the holiday island of Utoeya, killing 77 people.

 

The worst gun shooting recorded in history is the one that happened the day-before-yesterday which took the lives of babies at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. These babies have gone straight to heaven still not knowing why their lives have been cut short on earth. This horrific thing that happened has shattered their parents for life. They say wounds heal over time, but I don’t think these deep wounds will ever heal. The scars will always remain and their parents will never know why their babies were taken away from them forever.  Thank God for God, parents can give their pain to that someone above us and maybe, maybe make them feel better. God is our best counselor in moments like these. An emotional President Barack Obama so rightly said that these are babies had their whole lives ahead of them…birthdays, graduations, careers, weddings, and kids of their own. 

 

These reoccurring heinous crimes have raised the most controversial gun control laws and policy around the world yet again. It has raised the intense debate with proponents generally arguing the dangers of widespread gun ownership, and opponents generally arguing individual rights of self-protection as well as individual liberties. Even in the Connecticut heinous crime, many debated the need for urgent gun control in America, while many opponents argued that had the school kept guns for self-defense there wouldn't have been so many deaths at the elementary school in Sandy Hook at Newtown. In the past, when similar incidents occurred, promises to make changes to the policy were made, but then it was soon forgotten with other agenda's taking center stage.

 

This time, President Barack Obama himself has said that meaningful actions will be taken to prevent reoccurrences of such incidents. People in the United States have admitted that the society is becoming violent and people are getting distanced from each other. We cannot change people’s mental state of mind, we can provide them help by making help available to them, but yes America can do one thing and that is reform its gun laws for now.  Many experts have said that they completely support the Constitution but there is need that it evolves over the right to bear arms. They say that a driver's license cannot allow anyone to legally buy a gun. In the month of November itself 2 million guns were bought by Americans, of which many of them were bought on Black Friday.

 

While the general public is divided by being for and against gun control, the politicians too avoid bringing up the issue of gun control for fear of rejection by the public, just in case the future trend becomes such that most people’s opinions are opposite the politicians’. Hence, once again, the politicians are caught up in the spiral of silence where they have to succumb to present or future trend of public opinion.

 

Furthermore, we cannot even ignore the relationship between media violence and real-world violence and aggression. Violence is portrayed almost every single day through television, video games, movies, music, toys and other media. Studies show that people – children and adults – who watch a lot of television behave more aggressively. Not only does it make them aggressive, but they tend to use violence and aggression as a way of solving conflicts they encounter in life. Video games are clearly capable of producing an increase in aggression and violence in the short term. It has also been found that the gunner in the Connecticut incident was a videogame addict. 

 

I respect the Constitution of the United States. It is the beauty of this Constitution that gives me the right to state my opinion about the umpteen number of senseless gun shooting incidents that are happening day after day. I am not an American and I certainly have no right to demand reforms. I understand that very fact. But since I am currently living in the United States and as a human being with a conscience, I also know that I am terrified about the way innocent lives are lost for no reason at all. Six and seven year olds becoming victims of such gruesome murder is incomprehensible. I am horrified. I still can’t believe it.

 

My heart goes out to families who have lost their babies in the Newtown incident. All I can do is pray for you and your family. God Bless!

The American Dream

Well the United States of America has elected its President for the next four years. The brutally verbal presidential cat-fight is finally over. Many opinion leaders, trolls, analysts, volunteers, found themselves a job to do, thanks to the fierce presidential fight which lasted for over a year. Apart from doing routine chores, many of these passionate followers of the presidential elections have suddenly found nothing interesting to do. Making a sincere confession, I being one among them.

People chose status-quo. They chose the 'charismatic' for some and the 'incompetent' for others as the President of the supposedly most powerful country of the world. Did Americans make a correct decision, well, who am I to write about the right or the wrong. The only thing to cheer about is the triumph of democracy. In countries like India and the USA, which are the largest democracies of the world, it is the freedom of the people to vote that is the victor.

I am all of three months old in the Unites States and there could indeed be no other year better than the Presidential election period to experience the real America. Every American works toward fulfilling the American dream. According to James Truslow Adams (1931), an American writer and historian, the American dream is, "…life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. And there is no doubt how Americans truly live up to this dream. The election of a man, who created history by becoming the first African-American to be the president of the US way back in 2008, is reelected again for the next four years. What more evidence would we need to demonstrate Americans belief in diversity, equality, and love for the nation.

I may have got to play a small part as a volunteer during the presidential elections, but there's lots that I learnt in the process. The oozing passion of every American is indescribable in words. The freedom to cheer or jeer their presidential candidates openly in public is what I swear by. But all this said, it was thoroughly disappointing at a point when I was asked by a fellow American whether India is a democracy. The point when I was asked by a young lad how I spoke such good English in just 2.5 months of my stay in America, almost swept the floor beneath my feet. Following which, I spent almost 30 minutes with this guy illuminating him how English is the most popular language spoken in a multi-lingual country called India, which speaks over 22 languages. And how most of us learn English right from our mother's womb.

Wonder whether it is the self-sufficiency and the fiscal independence of America, which discourages Americans to be interested in what’s happening around the world. But again, the United States is a huge country, and it’s impossible to generalize.

Are sections of media to be held responsible for not informing people about the world beyond America? Or is media rightly doing its job of conveying to people what they want to hear/ read? Recently a reputed newspaper exacerbated the epidemic of dengue in India with a huge half page article. Another media paraded the slums in India and the growing poverty. In the last three months, I have not come across an article which talks about the prosperous side of India. So, the question I want to ask is…is media doing its job to be balanced and accurate about the happenings around the world?

However, today, there is a slight twist in the US administration’s foreign policy. With Asia “pivot", the United States has begun its initial engagements with countries in Asia-Pacific recognizing that most of the dominant issues of the twenty-first century will be decided by this region. America has realized that while it spends most of its money on post-conflict reconstruction, many states in the Asia-Pacific region were investing heavily in power-projection capabilities, naval and air force.  America has confessed that Asia pivot is linked profoundly to its own prosperity and that they have unique responsibilities in terms of maintenance of peace and stability.

The election may be over, but the campaigning continues to fix the huge debt burden that America is reeling under. Increase in tax and across the board spending cuts are proposed as the only way to prevent the economy to go back into recession. Well let’s see whether Congressional leaders are convinced with this debt reduction formula proposed by Obama. In a recent survey carried out by a discount coupon company, sixty-three percent of college graduates believed that the American Dream is dead with increased debt, inability to find work, and trouble finding affordable housing. 

Not only Americans but also the rest of the world wants America to come out from its multitrillion dollar deficit.  The world is a global village and we cannot afford a second fiscal cliff after Europe's failed attempt to overcome it. And for many Americans who have given up their American dream, they can hope to relive it once again.

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The Romney versus Obama plot thickens



Gravity lift



Serving up pancakes


It’s great to be in the United States of America at that time of the year when the Presidential race is heating up and presidential candidates - Mr. Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama - are going all out to impress about the people of the country with their theatrics.  6th November is the auspicious day in the 2012 calendar when the people of the U.S. go on a date to vote their President. So who's it going to be? Stakes are high on both sides, thus making it really difficult to even speculate the results.
 
Pick up a newspaper or turn on your television or radio set these days, you’ll find that the Presidential elections are the highlight all day long. Wonder whether Mr. Mitt Romney will surprise us by showing a thumbs-down to Obama, or would Obama get a second term? 
 
The campaigns are getting really interesting with hot freshly baked scripts and rhetoric churned out almost every single day. Few great one-liners that seem to be stuck in my head, and which also made national headlines in mainstream media, like Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s GOP convention speech, when he said, “Our rights come from nature and God and not from the Government.” Another interesting remark made by Bill Clinton in support for Obama, "I want to nominate a man who’s cool on the outside, but who burns for America on the inside.” Obama also made a cool remark at the Democratic National Convention saying, "They spent a lot of time talking about me, but they didn’t spend a lot of time talking about you."

I sometimes wonder who writes these billion dollar speeches for the Presidential candidates. So much of emotions are packed in these speeches that it even manages to bring people to tears. You just don’t need plain wit to write them for sure, you need to be real mean too. Besides those power-packed speeches, presidential campaigns were filled with theatrical acts, like the recent one when Barack Obama gets a gravity lift by a pizza shop owner in Florida during his campaign trail.

Soon after the conventions and road trails, presidential candidates will prepare to face each other in debates, and this is something that is going to be damn exciting. Official debates may not have started yet, but many slip-of-the-tongue moments during the campaign trails will be remembered, especially when Mr. Romney goofed up saying, 47% of Americans do not pay income tax because they are dependent on government handouts. He surely axed his own feet by making such a weak statement. In fact people need a hand up and not a handout says Obama rebuking Mr. Romney’s flip-flop.

Jobs, jobs and jobs is what people of the U.S. want right now, and the Presidential candidate who can give them what they want is sure to win the 2012 Presidential elections. From Mr. Romney's target to make North America energy independent by 2020, to Obama's ‘Pay As You Earn’ education loan for students, the presidential elections are heating up as we get along. In order to be sure that the best man wins, Americans should come out and cast their vote in large numbers. More importantly, rather than blindly following how media is portraying the presidential candidates, people should do some self-research/study before they vote. In Year 2008 the voter turnout was about 57% of the population. Just hope that the 2012 election shows 100% turnout. God Bless America!

Post script
I must admit that it’s very easy to refer to Obama without adding the courtesy ‘Mr.’ in front of his name. But it feels so disrespectful to make the same reference to Mr. Mitt Romney. That’s what Obama comes out as, a friendly chilled out person to people across different age, gender, and geographies. Well, so Americans need to decide, whether they want a chilled out Mr. Cool or a more Mr. Sophisticated as their President.

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The Hangover

That’s what I call a chapter in my life, when I woke up one fine morning and incidentally brushed by teeth with my face-wash, instead of my favorite mint flavored toothpaste.  It’s been exactly a week since I moved to Texas and it’s only now that the hangover kinda feeling seems to fade away slowly from my system. Long extended flights, unbalanced diet, and lack of sleep are certainly not my kinda way of living. Well, thank God I’ve gotten over it now.

 

Besides the jetlag, I still face the ‘not-going-my-way’ kinda challenges in Texas. The one topmost on my list is the helplessness of moving around the city like I did in my home city, Mumbai. Since local transportation is a bare minimum here, it becomes mandatory to hone some left-handed driving skills and drive around the city to make the most of it. Doubly, missing family, homemade food, and friends together sum up to my blues. But as they say time is a healer and I’m sure I’ll get over this too.

 

From the little I have seen of it, I can say Texas is a beautiful state in the United States of America with everything available in super large size. People drive big cars, drink in big mugs, have bigger personalities and also have this bigger than life attitude. The best part about them is that they simply speak their mind. There’s nothing hidden beneath the carpet. And as they say, everything is bigger in Texas…Texas-sized!

 

Apparently Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, with an area of 696,200 sq km and a growing population of 23.9 million, unlike the city I come from, Mumbai, with an area of 603 sq km, but an almost equivalent population of Texas of over 20.5 million. And this is exactly what explains the ‘there’s-no-one-on-the-streets’ kinda feeling that I get here. Like someone said to me in Konkani, “ek khuddo moos pun dischena’, which means, you’ll not even find a blind insect on the streets. How true, I must say :-)

 

Well, one challenge that doesn’t bother me is the Texan weather. The city of Denton's climate is characterized as humid subtropical. With its hot, humid summers and cool winters, the weather is pretty much what I call 'my-type'. Right now, it’s really-really hot in the afternoons, but it gets pretty pleasant in the mornings and evenings, these being the best times to go for a jog down county side.

 

Another interesting thing about being here at this time of the year is the presidential elections 2012 that is churning out lot of excitement in the country. Nobody is really sure of who’s going to be the President yet. There’s a clear fifty-fifty chance between both the presidential candidates - Obama and Romney - this time around. On one side, Obama manufactures campaign mugs with his birth certificate printed on it, while on the other side, Romney fights back going the Hollywood style by producing a movie 'The Hope And The Change' to fight Obama. From what I see, it’s tough competition. Just hope that the best one wins.

 

This is my brief one-week experience of this place for now. I’ll share lots more as I get along.

 

Talk to you soon!

 

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