Now that does not boggle the mind, does it.
Hear me out, my drunken brother, and ignore the vagaries of the EVM malfunction or the exercise of suffrage for a second. Lets talk about where we are truly taking ourselves in the exercise of that sacred right of universal adult franchise.
Given that democracy is about the rule of the majority, its true resiliency is measure by the rights of the minority. Its hallowed pillars are further strenghthened when the majority elect a minority to represent their best interests. You know a Benazir Bhutto, a woman who was elected prime minister in a country that was largely on the Islamic right. You know a Manmohan Singh, a Sikh prime minister, in a society that is seeing a rejuvenation of Hindu jingoism. In the recent past, you have read about Yuliya Tymoshenko in Ukraine too. All minorities in their respective rights, being chosen to lead a larger majority. Fairly, unequivocally and without a call to any of primitive human urges to go to war or annihilate a common enemy.
America, on the other hand, continues to amaze. It has made tall claims to be the best democracy, and rightly so in almost all cases. But what about minority representation in political leadership. Why have we been unsucessful in choosing a president from one of the minority segments of colour, sex or race? Even more intriguing is the relative sucess of minorities business life, with women leading many in the Fortune 500 list. The effect has simply not percolated to the fabric of political life and psyche. We have had an occasional Rice or a Powell, but they were not elected positions.
If corporate america can choose to have minority leaders at the helm, making decisions about their lives, the EPS and what products they consume - whats different in the political spectrum?
Why has the presidency been an exclusive domain of the white man in the United States, and third world nations with closed and impoverished demographies continue to elect minority leaders in a whim. The brits put a Thatcher in residence at Downing street, the point is conceded with the tenant list in the White house. It would be rather naive to argue that competent leaders have failed to emerge from the minority.
Will it be different this time? Will America make a point just to dispel any doubts on the fundamentals of its institutions. Are we mature enough as a people to let go and let the weaker individual show the way?
Obama or Clinton, that don't matter. The politics is unimportant.
Related Link
http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/whatsdem/whatdm8.htm
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
A Binary Life, or is it really ?
Many years ago, i created software code in assembly language. This is the language of the Computer, and has a dictionary of two words. Yes, two words exactly. Its either a zero or a one, you are either a High or a Low, you are ON or you are OFF - you, in short, ARE or you ARE NOT.
Very Black and White, you could say.
You could never be in-between or in the grey zone. The Computing machine resembles another institution of our time in that regard, the great George Dubya of the promised land. Oneday he ordained from the house of elected representatives, that the world was either with him or against him. I have often wondered if he was ever an assembly language programmer, and whether his code had subroutines and detailed comments, and was easily outsourceable. Turns out that he got quite a few run time errors. But i digress.
The question that i am seeking the answer for is this : What would the world be like if all answers to questions were a Yes or a NO? What if there were no grey? Would it be a better place after all?
After many years of deep thought employing the services of grey matter - i have come to conclude that grey is not a good thing. Greenspan-speak is confusing, period. The housing market is doomed, the bubble will burst and Feds will fudge with the financials - these are undeniable facts of modern life. The world is hurtling along the wrong freeway because we are finding too many shades of grey in the signposts. Men and women in power (i included the fairer sex not because i am a sexist, but a feminist in full measure) are providing too many ambiguous answers instead of zeros or ones. Their leadership is grey and not strong and reflective of their convictions, which as my psychonanalysts friends tell me - are almost unfailingly binary. They have concluded already, but the pronouncements are not conclusive. Life is truly a zero sum game, where the resources are limited and the wants aren't, and conflict resolves to a win for one side - no matter if you put a glossy shrink wrap on the consolation prize. Captilalism was not founded on symbiotic relationships, for Marx's sake.
You live(One or you don't live(Zero), philistines can claim you may simply exist(Grey). You are right or you are wrong, philistines can claim that you weren't entirely correct. True, the context can colour the size of the one or the zero, but after you have made adjustments for all things and considered all perspectives - you have to come to terms to what it really was. One or a Zero. If you can't read, or are not an assembly language programmer, it is still a One or a Zero.
Life would be monchromatic in black and white, your colourful side might argue. But you would have brightness and black holes - instead of a dull grey signposts. Its a different matter altogether that you, as I - in full control of our respective faculties would gravitate towards them black holes. That would be keeping in line with our exploratory instincts, and of choosing the road less travelled. As we perish in that black hole, we would atleast be happy in the knowledge of having made an informed choice.
The President was right. I am with Him. Are you NOT?
Related link:
http://www.arl.wustl.edu/~lockwood/class/cs306/books/artofasm/toc.html
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/11/06/gen.attack.on.terror/
Very Black and White, you could say.
You could never be in-between or in the grey zone. The Computing machine resembles another institution of our time in that regard, the great George Dubya of the promised land. Oneday he ordained from the house of elected representatives, that the world was either with him or against him. I have often wondered if he was ever an assembly language programmer, and whether his code had subroutines and detailed comments, and was easily outsourceable. Turns out that he got quite a few run time errors. But i digress.
The question that i am seeking the answer for is this : What would the world be like if all answers to questions were a Yes or a NO? What if there were no grey? Would it be a better place after all?
After many years of deep thought employing the services of grey matter - i have come to conclude that grey is not a good thing. Greenspan-speak is confusing, period. The housing market is doomed, the bubble will burst and Feds will fudge with the financials - these are undeniable facts of modern life. The world is hurtling along the wrong freeway because we are finding too many shades of grey in the signposts. Men and women in power (i included the fairer sex not because i am a sexist, but a feminist in full measure) are providing too many ambiguous answers instead of zeros or ones. Their leadership is grey and not strong and reflective of their convictions, which as my psychonanalysts friends tell me - are almost unfailingly binary. They have concluded already, but the pronouncements are not conclusive. Life is truly a zero sum game, where the resources are limited and the wants aren't, and conflict resolves to a win for one side - no matter if you put a glossy shrink wrap on the consolation prize. Captilalism was not founded on symbiotic relationships, for Marx's sake.
You live(One or you don't live(Zero), philistines can claim you may simply exist(Grey). You are right or you are wrong, philistines can claim that you weren't entirely correct. True, the context can colour the size of the one or the zero, but after you have made adjustments for all things and considered all perspectives - you have to come to terms to what it really was. One or a Zero. If you can't read, or are not an assembly language programmer, it is still a One or a Zero.
Life would be monchromatic in black and white, your colourful side might argue. But you would have brightness and black holes - instead of a dull grey signposts. Its a different matter altogether that you, as I - in full control of our respective faculties would gravitate towards them black holes. That would be keeping in line with our exploratory instincts, and of choosing the road less travelled. As we perish in that black hole, we would atleast be happy in the knowledge of having made an informed choice.
The President was right. I am with Him. Are you NOT?
Related link:
http://www.arl.wustl.edu/~lockwood/class/cs306/books/artofasm/toc.html
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/11/06/gen.attack.on.terror/
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Making amends
Driving through the interstate on the way to work is the personal time of my day. I-280 is beautiful in the early morning, you see the fleeting remnants of the hallowed Frisco fog being burned down by the sun in the back drop of the golden california hills. I am also usually tuned in to the local public radio station during this twenty minute drive - for my daily update on what is going on with the wide world. It is also a time for assimilation and contextualizing, as i listen to who is perpetuating what under the glaring Iraqi sun in another part of the planet. And catching up on the lunch menu in the San Francisco unified school district.
Today, amidst all this news of mindlessness, there was mention of a statute that had been passed without much ado. It is called the Rosa Parks act and it provides for pardon for all convicted of violating a law used to maintain or enforce racial segregation. Rosa Parks had been convicted decades ago of refusing to give up her seat on a bus reserved for whites and was a spark that ignited a whole generation of civil rights activists. My grasp of american history is weak, and a lot of you may have a lot more on this story - but this simple piece of news touched a chord. I came to work and started looking up a little more on the subject in the major networks, but alas - the story had been under the radar for most of the major media conglomerates.
It is significant to note that Rosa Parks passed away last year, and this act will be used to strike off her conviction record posthumously in some obscure record book in a dusty old room. It will not make a material difference to any of our lives as we start the summer weekend following this lazy friday, but it made my day a little more wondrous. To think that we do need to dwell on the past sometimes, to make amends whenever possible and an affirmation that symbolism is sometimes more etheral and sublime than the numbers in the latest tax codes that money dot com churns out in colourful graphics.
A line from the quixotic John Quincy Adams, Jr, pleading for the slaves of the Amistad, immortalized in the movie of the same name, came to mind - "we are - what we were" - he had said.
Whatever it takes.
Related Link http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/alabama-legislature-approves-pardons.php
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)