Is it the System or is it us?

I do write write loads and loads of messages in a lot of discussion fora. There's an inherent, unifying theme in nearly all my writings, nevertheless. I never highlight a fault with the system when the individuals that should run the system are faulty themselves. Unless the operators know how to run a machine, one should not try to repair the machine - it's bound to break down again, even if one repairs it successfully! We, the people, are the operators in a democracy, of course!

We, as individuals:

lack a lot of knowledge, information, and attributes,

do a lot of mistakes, individually and as a part of various groups,

follow a lot of unethical practices,

find fault with everyone and everything except what we feel our own,

find a reason to blame or rant and move on with a pseudo-satisfaction of achievement,

are filled with skepticism and hatred towards the System that we don’t understand,

ignore that we need to understand the System before we can even deem it dysfunctional,

think we can troubleshoot the System we do not know,

extrapolate and blow up our limited understanding of a part of our surroundings – only that we want to see – and think the whole Society is the same,

do not realize that We, the people, are the only ones to be ever blamed in a democracy; after all, we are the rulers!

forget that other individuals in the System can be wrong and then blow up that “individuals” to a “group” and that group to “Society” and that “Society” to the “System”.

 

Thus said, I have a trouble convincing people that individual-level reforms should come first. I really wish people do find a sound argument to explain why the System should be reformed first. And/or I wish that they would agree that finding individual-level solutions is more important, necessary, and effective compared to system-level solutions that no one wants to design, test-drive, implement, manage, troubleshoot, or even believe in!

Wikileaks: The other side of the story

No, this is not Wikileaks about Wikileaks. I don’t know anything about Julian Assange or Wikileaks, not even a fraction of what has been written in news all over the world.

First things first, I am not greatly awed by Wikileaks! There, I said it!! Why? The faith on the factuality of the content of the Leaks originates from the fact that we all hate our governments, we hate all achievers, we wait for someone to find faults with anything that seems perfect.

(Disclaimer: “We” is probably a majority of us and is still a gross generalization, I admit. This generalization continues through the rest of the article.)

Consider this: Wikileaks has released 50,000 documents against a country X. If anyone from the government in X notices that 49,000 of them are wrong, can they go public and say that out? The immediate question then is not “Why did Wikileaks cheat us with 49,000 fake documents?” The question from the citizens of X is still is “What about the other 1,000? So, you are agreeing that they are true, aren’t you?” Naturally, that’s what the question is when we are all like the citizens of X – we just hate our government so much! No one then cares about the 49,000 fake documents and the opposition parties too grill the government about the remaining 1,000!

Consider this now: A few documents reveal some shady situations with the UPA government in the Republic of India. The major opposition party, BJP, makes a hue and cry about it. The next day, a document against BJP is revealed. Why was it not revealed along with the other documents?! Is it not possible that Wikileaks is playing a political game? Worse, the game is probably being played by them not just in one country (like politicians) but in all major countries! And, while not realizing that we are dancing to their tunes, we want them to play more music!! Wikileaks is not just playing the music but is even choreographing the dance, in all the world!

Do I hate Wikileaks so much? Actually, no!! I liked it as a concept, that information pertaining to public should be revealed to public. In spirit, it’s very much like the “Right To Information” (RTI) that’s prevalent in India, for instance. While I do revere RTI as an important tool for democracy, I cannot say the same about Wikileaks. Reason? It’s, after all, a leak.

Picture this: You go to a movie theater. The ticket price is Rs. 50. There are no tickets left at the counter. You do find a black ticketeer selling you the ticket at Rs. 60 and you wouldn’t buy it for ethical reasons. The next week, there’s some government order that raises the ticket prices to Rs. 60. You still go buy it in the ticket counter and watch a film. The price is the same, monetarily speaking, but the ethical prices were different. Likewise, when you file an application under RTI, the information comes right from the government and it’s official. (For people who think the government need not reveal any shady deals under RTI, all I can say is to look up the success of RTI in various states. I’d write more on RTI later.)

Now, picture this: You go to a movie theater. The ticket price is Rs. 50. There are no tickets left at the counter. You do find a black ticketeer selling you the ticket at Rs. 60. So far, it’s all the same as earlier. Say, you do buy a black ticket at Rs. 60 (assuming you are not as ethical really, of course!) What if the ticket was fake? If the theater management doesn’t allow you to go in with a fake ticket, who do you point your finger at? Anyone? Even if you spot the black ticketeer, all (s)he’d say is that many others bought tickets from him/her and watched the movie. Do you have an argument against it? You just curse that fellow, curse the management and leave… and you do not curse yourself for getting the ticket illegally and unethically and even believing that you can sneak in that way.

So, I do think Wikileaks is a good idea but the implementation is what I am skeptical about. Let’s see how things turn.

Traffic Management - Hyderabad Police seek Public Interaction

The Additional Commission of Police (Traffic), K. Kaumudi, announced that the Traffic Police Deparment intends to conduct open house discussions on Traffic Management in the city on June 22, Sunday. The following are the time and venue in various zones:

Traffic Division #1: Mahankali Market, Gopalapuram, Chilakalaguda, Lalaguda, Tukaram Gate, Marredpally, Karkhana, Bowenpally, Trimulgherry, Bollaram police station jurisdrictions
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Venue: St. Patrick's School, Secunderabad (Near Manohar Talkies)
Concerned ACP: Jaya Rao (94906-16007)

Traffic Division #2: Panjagutta, S.R. Nagar, Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Begampet, Ramgopalpet police station jurisdrictions
Time: 9 a.m.
Venue: Jaya Garden Function Hall, Somajiguda
Concerned ACP: T. Ram Sudhakar (94906-16022)

Traffic Division #3: Abids, Saifabad, Chikkadpally, Narayanaguda, Musheerabad, Gandhi Nagar police station jurisdrictions
Time: 9 a.m.
Venue: Ruby Garden Function Hall, King Kothi
Concerned ACP: A.K. Dubey (94906-16041)

Traffic Division #4: Begum Bazar, Nampally, Habeeb Nagar, Mangalhat, Shah-inayat Gunj, Kulsumpura, Tappachabutra, Asif Nagar, Langar House, Golconda, Humayun Nagar police station jurisdrictions
Time: 10 a.m.
Venue: Sabha Function Hall, Nampally (Right beside Nampally Police Station)
Concerned ACP: B.R. Baig (94906-16056)

Traffic Division #5: Old City, Sultan Bazar, Afzal Gunj, Amberpet, Kacheguda, Osmania University, Nallakunta, Malakpet, Chaderghat, Saidabad police station jurisdrictions
Time: 10:30 a.m.
Venue: S.S. Gardens, Nalgonda X Roads
Concerned ACP: T. Ramesh (94906-16083)

Agenda: (Estimated time of discussions: ~2 hours)
* Traffic jams - frequently occuring areas and solutions
* Parking - issues and solutions
* Suggestions for new one way routes in residential colonies
* Invitations to Volunteers and Traffic Wardens from among citizens
* Any other issues pertaining to Traffic

Attendees:
Representatives from
* Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)
* Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) & SETWIN
* Cantonment Board Members (in Secunderabad Zone only)

Please circulate this information to all individuals and organizations you know.

(Courtesy: Eenadu, Hyderabad Edition, June 20, 2008)

Practical Idealism versus Ideal Practice

I always hear: idealism and practicality are opposites! Well, I surely don't ever see it as a black-or-white question. Why, you may ask? Simply because they're but just two adjectives that can take other nouns, including each other! That's exactly why this piece is titled as it is.

What's it to be practical? To put something in practice. And, now, what renders idealism an unsuitable candidate? Nothing but unnecessary apprehensions that ...well, idealism cannot be put in practice! I simply ask, to inform myself, as to why idealism cannot be put in practice, and I still am yet to find a person who can give me a logical, straightforward answer. Now, what's it to be ideal? To follow certain ideals, of course! What ideals, due course of action decides.

Some ideals of old times might seem "impractical" as is, and what do you do then? Make them practical, of course, or how can you put them into practice! That's what I term Practical Idealism. In cases where there're no prescribed ideals, the practice, in a win-win situation, could be called Ideal Practice, by bringing practicality as close as possible to an “assumed ideal”. There is a subtle difference between the two, I dare to point, in that Ideal Practice is to be only sought after as the modus operandi when Practical Idealism is, presumably, not all feasible. (By "not all feasible", I refer to circumstantial constraints on its applicability but not on its practicability.) In other words, when ideal comes to meet practice, it's Practical Idealism, and when practice comes to meet the ideal, it's Ideal Practice.

How does this wordplay matter? Well, the wordplay doesn't matter, surely, but what matters is people's perception of both idealism and practicality. When one talks about practicality, one treats it as an antonym of idealism, like I wrote when I started. So, how does this antonymy matter? By looking at these terms as antonyms, practicality is put afar off idealism and not as nearer as it could be! In this light, idealism is cast off outright. If only one tries to bring practicality as much nearer to idealism as possible, one attains Ideal Practice, and in most cases, a bit of furthering shall bring oneself to Practical Idealism.

The bottom line? Practice Idealism, and you'd then learn that it's practicable. Look at them as opposites, and your practicality is never ideal!

“JAI – Just An Indian”