Blissful Life

Category: culture

  • ‘The Good Place’ is Good

    ‘The Good Place’ is Good

    Swathi and I started watching ‘The Good Place’ after we finished watching ‘A Man on the Inside’ (thanks to Pooja’s recommendation in the South Central podcast) and craving for more Ted Danson.

    There are 4 seasons and we finished it within a month!

    It was a whirlwind ride on philosophy. Although not as exciting as Matrix, The Good Place’s take on afterlife is much more relevant to our every day life.

    I have to include some spoilers ahead to speak about my favorite parts.

    While there are interesting episodes discussing philosophical concepts like trolley problem and free will, the parts I really loved are the satire on people.

    There is the good place committee. When the situation arises where they have to stand up and do something, they go into writing “strongly worded” letters and forming a selection committee for forming the committee that will deliberate on the issue. This is an apt description of much of the “progressive” society which keeps expressing their collective shock and disbelief in the same words and manner forever.

    Then there’s the character named Brent – a very accurate depiction of a savarna man. Completely delusional about his importance and contributions. Immune to feedback. Absolutely incorrigible. Total pain in the ass.

    There are so many characters which are possible only in The Good Place universe. Janet, the all knowing (not a) robot. The Judge. Michael. It is worth watching purely for the intellectual exercise of thinking about these characters.

    And then there are so many real world characters. Michael again, Eleanor, Vicky. The story, through these characters, weaves issues like love, friendship, sacrifice, workplace rivalry, jealousy, boredom, and purpose into the fictional world seamlessly.

    I liked The Good Place for its exposition of the philosophy around “doing good”. It is a must watch for activists.

  • Liberty vs Morality

    Liberty and morality can be seen as counter-balancing forces.
    Liberty applies to individuals.
    Morality is a social construct.
    Liberty is about what one can do.
    Morality is about what one cannot do.
    Liberty assumes each human is a rational being and respects them for that.
    Morality is enforced on humans by authority based on arbitrary consensus.
    Liberty allows a human being to achieve their maximum human potential.
    Morality can potentially prevent individuals from harming other individuals.
    Liberty and morality are not equally acting on everyone, though.
    Morality often sides with the more privileged. Because the authority to enforce morality rests with them too. In turn, liberty also accumulates with the privileged.
    Privilege may never get equally distributed. We must therefore constantly renegotiate the arbitrary rules of morality for the benefit of the less privileged.

  • Cough Up Some Patriotism, Please!

    Many Indians have a “respect” problem. To them, respect is physical. Bowing down, touching feet, keeping legs uncrossed, standing up, using the words “sir” or “madam” in every sentence, and so on. On the other hand they also have great difficulty in respecting others’ time, personal space, or opinions.

    They are ignorant of their hypocrisy. And this is what makes them intolerant when it comes to topics like national anthem being completely out of place for movie theatres.

    To them standing for 52 seconds for national anthem is their duty towards their country. And their duty ends there. They don’t feel the need to stand up against corruption by not paying bribes. They don’t feel the need to stand up against bureaucratic inefficiency by demanding rights. They don’t feel the need to stand up and be a good citizen in a democracy.

    Kindly stand up for the flag when you are reading this part of the post.

    Because, you see, like respect, concepts like participative democracy, growth and development, efficiency, and creativity are totally alien to them. They are used to one kind of lifestyle – that of meek subservience. They make it clear that they do not like to be forced to think outside the box. They are comfortable in their zones and are not to be disturbed by provoking thoughts. Their emotions are liable to get (butt)hurt if you consider poking.

    You cannot blame them for this. They have been brought up like that. Punishments were the most used tool for teaching and while growing up. And so, everything is tied to fear. And fear manifests as slapstick respect and all the irrelevant physical things that many Indians do to “show respect”.

    Maybe some of them are literate. Maybe they understand. My sincere piece of advice to them would be to replace respect and fear with love. Love thy country. Love thy countrymen. Let love guide you into doing wonderful things for the country and humanity in toto.

    More importantly, don’t judge my patriotism by your standards. Stop slapping people for not doing things exactly like you want them doing. There are multiple ways to be a good citizen. Forcing people into doing things to prove themselves will only do harm. Sitting or standing, national anthem is just a symbol. If you really respect your country, show some real respect for the democracy.

    Related read: The National Anthem and the Supreme Court’s Popcorn Nationalism

  • (Un)happy Women’s Day?

    What makes girls today wish they were born as boys?
    Why has every Women’s Day article I read today focused on the injustice towards women and not on their achievements?
    Why do they even have to build a site explaining women’s rights in Islam?
    Why did I think of founding the sisbro organization (a volunteer organization that helps unaccompanied sisters arriving at railway stations and bus stands to reach safety by sending them authorized brothers seeking nothing but sisterly affection in return for their care)? And why did I have to worry about it being a failure too?

    The answer – not soul stirring, not at all surprising, but the most ignored and the least sought out – is that we, as a people or a society, have not grown. How progressive can we expect an average member of a society described by the supreme court as having “low ethical levels and rampant commercialization” to be? We are immature. We are incomplete. We are illiterate. We still lack the mindset, the outlook, and even the vision of a constructive culture.

    And above all we are not ready to correct ourselves.
    Or to be more accurate, we are not brave enough.

    We are not brave enough to:

    1. think about different solutions
    2. question injustice
    3. publicly and outrightly reject commercialization (especially the exploitation of women’s sexuality, and men’s carnal desires)
    4. swim against the stream (the stream which’s been flowing only in one direction from the beginning of time)
    5. break taboos
    6. raise our voice
    7. stop ‘giving’ equal status to women
    8. let high school students of either gender sit together (I’m particularly adamant about this one. You believe they have their own different set of problems? I believe that’s been the problem behind all these problems. Girls and boys may have different bodies, but they do have the same minds. Their problems may be different in appearance, but they’re the one and the same. And there’s no compromise on this point)
    9. realize that giving birth is not the only work a woman can do efficiently (especially considering the growing population of India)
    10. ask ourself whether it’s easier to talk about sex and birth prevention or about rape and sexual abuse.
    11. start accepting what’s good in other cultures (especially the western culture. Ya. I know that’s gonna make earn me a tag of a pro-western idiot. But there’s no denying the fact that many of the problems that our gloated 10000 year old culture faces now, is not at all a menace in the west, because their culture by design eliminates the causes of these)
    12. stop editing and re-editing your comment under this post to conform to ‘moral standards’ and start changing the world
    13. go and get a life
      Most Indians have nothing to think about other than their boring work (which, we don’t realize is, not compulsory), and gossips. There are cooler things to do in life. (And when your mind is stretched by a new idea it never regains its original dimensions)

    Happy Women’s Day, then.

      PS: As I say that, I see another steamy song on the tv in which the fingers of the hero grazes over the bare skin of that sleeveless, and probably shameless new actress, and I (even I d:) can’t control the animal instincts hard coded into my brain.

    1. Talking About Sex

      I was first taught about sex neither by my parents nor by my teachers.
      The first time I really learned how babies are made was when I saw a porn movie when I was 14. Yeah, even before the advent of Internet.

      And till today my parents haven’t talked to me directly about sex either. (Though my dad has mentioned several times that it can be an addiction) And mind you, next year I’m 18.

      I have had the chance to learn in two schools. But still, none of the 50 or more teachers who’ve taught me have ever talked about sex. Not even my biology teacher.
      Of course the lesson “Reproduction in Human Beings” was much anticipated. But it went away like over-hyped bollywood movies do, without an active discussion. (There were muffled laughs from the corners to welcome a hypocritical lecture)

      And even my beloved English teachers who talk about everything on this earth have invariably failed me. Somehow I gathered the courage to tell my teacher that we watched porn (in a relevant context) but she just responded “that’s bad” in a surprised manner and walked away. She talked about drugs the next minute. But she wouldn’t talk about this drug. I mean, if she had a point, she’d rather make it clear.

      By that afternoon the news spread and I was receiving mixed responses from my schoolmates – applauses and questioning looks. As if I had done something. Heroic or great. Obscene or indecent.
      Whereas I was standing amongst them, confused. Wondering as to what was so special about the topic I put in. Nobody asked me anything when I told my English teacher about the way I play football, or the way I love my father.

      What are these adults shying away from?
      Parents and teachers.

      Should generation gap be a problem?
      Well, it is not. Because though friends talk a bit about sex, they don’t actually ‘openly’ talk.
      The little that friends know about each others’ problems is the little that comes after multi-filtering through cultural sieves.
      SEX???!!! Taboo.

      You don’t have to worry about me. You don’t have to worry about those teens who luckily fall into good company. But there are others who aren’t so lucky. They do not get a chance to know anything until they are in a situation where knowing does not matter.

      It so happens in the seemingly open but stringently closed society that we are born into.

      Maybe you are thinking that your not talking about it makes us less curious.
      You are of course wrong.
      Not knowing only adds to the curiosity.
      And curiosity kills the cat.

      Talking about sex only reduces the risks.
      It is not talking that multiplies the risk.

      But there is no talking. There is only flinching.
      The 3 letter word is never used. (Though the 4 letter word is always used)

      Adolescence Education Programs were promised.
      Well, we never thought any would ever be delivered.
      For, who’s to deliver it other than you?

      Maybe you could answer. What is so special about sex that makes it a topic worth not discussing?

      If you’re gonna tell me that our culture prohibits us from talking about sex, tell that to the 1 million HIV/AIDS patients in the age group 15-29 from India. And mind you, that data is three years old.

      And till you find me a solid reason not to talk about sex, I will keep on using the word loudly and in public.

      –
      A virgin.