The spell is broken

My writing curse is broken and I do feel like writing a lot again .My recent interests are running into all kinds of public policy books and a general interest all around about what should be done by us , responsible citizens of India to change the country .

But before I start talking about India , I read this interesting thing in a recent book called the future shock (again will have to be another blog on its own ) . As our civilizations are expanding and we are moving away from home and leading a nomadic life , what happens to social responsibility structures. In earlier times people used to stay in the same place , go to the same church , have friends and relatives in the same area so it made sense for them to contribute to their communities but with this ever changing modes of our lives we no longer can call one place , or one set of friends or one even one country our own . Like the old adage we might not be here to eat the mangoes from the mango tree that we plant right now . So how does one determine ones social responsibility in these times , is it to your current place of residence , or to the country which sweated it out to provide you education , or where your immediate family stays . People talk about helping folks back home but what about the place which is your current home , do we not have a social reponsibilty towards this place .

Honestly for we whenever I volunteer at a american organization I just keep thinking , these people here have everything and they dnt need too much of my help , people back home lack even the most basic amenities , I could have been using this time to help them out and there goes my feeling of social responsibility . I feel more at home at the immigrant center coz it feels like more like helping folks back home.

Ultimately it becomes a question of who do you choose to help in this big wild world . One thing is sure to me , we are one of few chosen ones to be born with such privileges and we have been granted them so that we can bring about a positive change in this world. We just have to find a channel to be effective enough .

Once you start thinking of channels the first thing that comes to my mind is politics. No matter how corrupt or meaningless politics seems today it remains the first and the foremost channels for improving a society . Having said that it just seems too much out of the reach of a common man to try to step into the murky waters of politics and effect a change .

Then again there are the NGOs and the countless issues that each one of them is trying to address . As some one said with almost everything it is like standing on a grocery aisle , looking at the countless varieties of bread and choosing which one you want...:-)

The only thing that is clear to me as of now is I hold a social reponsibility to everyone around me but maybe because I understand my home country better I would be more effective in bringing about a change there . Acc to me the only issue that a country faces is the lack of self respect and mutual respect for their fellow countrymen which we have a severe deficiency of .The channel however is not at all well defined and neither are the ends . The search for answers still goes on...

So what after you settle down ..?

I was talking to Karin the other day and she asked me if still wrote my blog and I said well I used when I was settling down in this country but now I dnt . She told me I should continue writing since I have more of insider's view now .

I guess as the struggle goes down so does the creative instinct , now I no longer have stories of fighting the winter cold or almost failing in a class . Its the more comfortable life of driving the car , doing a job that you like , a kind manager , a beautiful house and time to pursue all kinds of hobbies .. in short living the american dream ...

But there is a lot more about the american dream that has enchanted me in the recent times ...Watching Obama become President has been like reading one of those old autobiographies of a leader rising from nowhere to take over the world . This man did everythin gthat almost no one does these days , he dreamt big at such a young age and had the conviction and the integrity to hold himself up through the entire process . I just saw the last season of West Wing where Matt Santos had a similar run and I could not stop but think , these are things that happen in movies not in real life..a man choses to hold on to his integrity, never to use negativity against the other guy , believe in himself so much that even though there are so many liabilities holding up against him he continues to soldier on .
We indeed have been very lucky to watch all this unfold right in front of us . I dnt know what it does to america but it sure has given a hope to loads of young people out there that if you need to something to change you have to get out there and believe that you can do it .

Teaching me more about the american dream are my students at the SHAPE center . This is center for immigrants from different countries who have come to US to find a life that is different than their war stricken , poor , corrupt nations ..where the situation of your birth counts more than your talent or your hard work . I was once talking to a Somali women about what are the common things that they see in their country . She looked down at the list which had things like telephone , refrigerator etc ..and said ohh these , we used to have them but now we don't because of the war .

I hear about people fighting with their own folks in most of the countries and then I look at the people that we see here in the US on a daily basis . You walk into a supermarket and you can easily see people from some 20 countries go about there daily routine buying the same flour to make chapati , tortillas or a pizza at home . Nowhere do you a sign of hostility amongst them , they have all learnt to peacefully co-exist with their new and old cultures. Then you wonder why people back home are still fighting with people from the same nation and it all starts seeming trivial.

Karin says she thinks americans are too cold and when she goes to India she sees the warmth in the people . I wonder where does the coldness in americans go when they greet you ,a immigrant to this nation with such warmth in their houses and treat you as a equal at work . At the same time where does the warmth in the Indians go when we go around butchering each other on the streets or backstabbing a colleague at work .

Ofcourse the above mentioned stuff nowhere negates the overly materialistic and lonely america , the confused teenagers , americas global policies and ofcourse now the recession which is taking the whole world down with it . Those would have to wait for a later blog though . However this nation offers hope and opportunity to a better life to so many all over the world that I sometimes wonder if I can find the magic vial that holds the formula to this .