Saturday, January 27, 2007
A went clubbing yesterday.. and danced the night away to some live latino music. Not really though danced as much as shaked a leg(maybe two sometimes) because I obsessively carry my purse, umbrella and waterbottle everywhere with me. So there was not much I could do. But it was fun..the singer on stage at one point took my purse from me to help to do a temporary jig. Was fun..My first clubbing experience in Singapore. Good. Thank you Vivek!
On the flip side, my first exposure to general party behaviour was a mixed one. Too many whites with asian women.
I just cannot stand the way south east asian women compromise to please the western men. It's a little depressing. Apparently this Xeno-anglo-american-philia is greater in Japan.Women in South east Asia I'm told look for much older men with lot of money. I cannot prove it, but thats the general opinion. Some choose not to follow that path and not marry at all. I ve been told that women marry so late here, that even though they may want kids, they cannot have them. So the Government is trying very very hard to intervene in the social life of people to get them to marry early.
That brings me to political freedom versus economic freedom.
Which is more necessary? Can both be has simultaneously? The lessons we learn from east asia is though political freedom is compromised, not many complained. Because they got economic freedom. Their standards of living changed drastically over one generation and the people here have nothing but respect for their Government. Atleast those of the 30+ age group. The younger one's in their 20's are probably a little more critical, because they didn't see the hard life. They didn't see how one man's vision made such a difference.
We indian's have one freedom that countries like Singapore don't have. Political freedom(not in it's entirety though..and not everywhere) You switch on the TV, or pick up TOI-the Hindu, use limewire to download anything.. you can be as biased as you want. You can criticize or applaud or lambast or satirize..do as you please. But that's we have and that's all we do. But we don't have economics freedom. Offshoring has helped us, but helped some of us. We have a great degree of wealth inequality. Are we then better off than the Singaporeans or the Chinese?
No.
Thats the problem with India. When nations here try to promote unity. They ban mosque from conducting their prayer and disturbing the peace of the city. They have banned (forced) evagelizing . The state does not cater to religion. Every low income area has an even ratio of chinese, malays and Indians..to prevent something like what happend in Paris.
In India we pander to diversity. We emphazie our differences. We am pro hindu. We are pro the lower caste...thats whats wrong. bigotry.
Are we happy? I cannot imagine now if any of these freedoms of mine are taken away. Because I value them. But I've stopped feeling contempt for countries like Singapore who placed economic freedom over political, because when you are so poor you don't care about your right such things as long as your next meal is in place.
But certainly now is the time to relax these restrictions. MAybe not on the ethnicity part..because the world is burning due to that. But the right to protest and the right to question.
And India..well..economic freedom seems a long way off. I don't see a solution except maybe the NGO-citizen way. people start making good of their surrounding in their own little way. As this year nobel peace prize winner Yunus did. Maybe thats the only way forward for us. Because our leaders have lost our faith.
On the flip side, my first exposure to general party behaviour was a mixed one. Too many whites with asian women.
I just cannot stand the way south east asian women compromise to please the western men. It's a little depressing. Apparently this Xeno-anglo-american-philia is greater in Japan.Women in South east Asia I'm told look for much older men with lot of money. I cannot prove it, but thats the general opinion. Some choose not to follow that path and not marry at all. I ve been told that women marry so late here, that even though they may want kids, they cannot have them. So the Government is trying very very hard to intervene in the social life of people to get them to marry early.
That brings me to political freedom versus economic freedom.
Which is more necessary? Can both be has simultaneously? The lessons we learn from east asia is though political freedom is compromised, not many complained. Because they got economic freedom. Their standards of living changed drastically over one generation and the people here have nothing but respect for their Government. Atleast those of the 30+ age group. The younger one's in their 20's are probably a little more critical, because they didn't see the hard life. They didn't see how one man's vision made such a difference.
We indian's have one freedom that countries like Singapore don't have. Political freedom(not in it's entirety though..and not everywhere) You switch on the TV, or pick up TOI-the Hindu, use limewire to download anything.. you can be as biased as you want. You can criticize or applaud or lambast or satirize..do as you please. But that's we have and that's all we do. But we don't have economics freedom. Offshoring has helped us, but helped some of us. We have a great degree of wealth inequality. Are we then better off than the Singaporeans or the Chinese?
No.
Thats the problem with India. When nations here try to promote unity. They ban mosque from conducting their prayer and disturbing the peace of the city. They have banned (forced) evagelizing . The state does not cater to religion. Every low income area has an even ratio of chinese, malays and Indians..to prevent something like what happend in Paris.
In India we pander to diversity. We emphazie our differences. We am pro hindu. We are pro the lower caste...thats whats wrong. bigotry.
Are we happy? I cannot imagine now if any of these freedoms of mine are taken away. Because I value them. But I've stopped feeling contempt for countries like Singapore who placed economic freedom over political, because when you are so poor you don't care about your right such things as long as your next meal is in place.
But certainly now is the time to relax these restrictions. MAybe not on the ethnicity part..because the world is burning due to that. But the right to protest and the right to question.
And India..well..economic freedom seems a long way off. I don't see a solution except maybe the NGO-citizen way. people start making good of their surrounding in their own little way. As this year nobel peace prize winner Yunus did. Maybe thats the only way forward for us. Because our leaders have lost our faith.
Labels: India
# posted by qq @ 10:39 PM 
