Thanksgiving 2006
A time for Thanksgiving
On this Thanksgiving weekend in 2006, I would like to use this blogsite as a way of expressing thanks for some unique confluences regarding my own as well as geopolitical circumstances. I have much to be thankful for today , not least for my beautiful and lovely wife, and my career, and the good health of my family members, but I will concentrate on other topics in this essay.
One main reason for thankfulness is the fact that I am associated with two truly great nations, one by birth, nationality and livelihood, the other by ancestry, family ties, spirituality and civilizational heritage,both by values, upbringing and education. The two countries I am talking about are the USA and India. Many people may have different definitions as to how a nation can be classified as truly great. My criteria are as follows. The main criterion is how successful the nation is in allowing its residents to realize their full potential while achieving their ambitions. This involves creating a climate in which people can be reasonably assured that their rights won’t be trampled on by others. Diversity management is another criteria. If a nation has a diverse population, and achieves a sense of common nationhood without having the national government force a common identity, I would count that as a positive point. Last but not least are the values that define a nation. What constitutes ‘national values’ can be debatable, they are indeed somewhat of an ephemeral concept. Values that are ingrained in most of the citizenry and which have been developed via events in the nation’s history is my defnintion of national values. Another criterion for greatness is how successful the country is projecting its values and culture abroad, through the media, films, people to people contacts or economic methods. This is where relatively large countries like the US and India enjoy an advantage over others.
Through the energies of their people and the freedoms their societies enjoy, and the values they have developed throughout their tumultuous histories, both th US and India are unique nations. Although India has existed as a political nation only for relatively brief times in her history (e.g. during Ashoka’s and Akbar’s reigns, and from Independence to the present day) there is has always been a cultural thread uniting the country, chiefly due to the influence of the Indic religions throughout the land (which have also Indianized even foreign religious and philosophical influences). People fleeing persecution from their homelands, like the Zoroastrians and the Jews, have found India to be a welcoming place. Indigenous traditions have also survived countless external invasions, from Alexander to the Islamic invasions of the early part of the second millenium to the British (note: I have nothing against the present day Macedonians, Britons or Indian Muslims). And although India has been officially a democracy for about 54 years, democratic traditions existed even in ancient times. One fact that impresses me a lot about India is the fact that the concept from the Gita…many paths can lead to the same truth, is ingrained in many of the people.The fact that so many different subcultures exist in harmony in India is a testament to this. The fact that India’s experiment in democracy has been successful and the country has not broken up, inspite of what many so called ‘experts’ were saying in the 1980’s when the country was affected by several insurgencies, shows the strength of the common cultural thread.
The US too has a brilliant yet tumultuous history. It is probably the first nation in the world to be found upon principles, especially the principles that all men are created equal and that everyone has a right to pursue happiness. While individualism does playa role in the thinking of most of its citizens, they by and large are happy when they see others, especially underdogs, succeed through hard work and innovation. The US played a major role, if not the most major role, in saving the world from the threats of fascism, and the US was largely instrumental in hastening the end of the threat of world communism. It even fought a war with itself in the 1860’s to remove a contradiction between principles and practices. Being a nation of immigrants, it treats its new residents probably better than any other country treats its immigrants. Being a relatively new country by world history standards, it does not have the burden of an established aristocratic class, hence most people have a strong sense of fairness and believe in equality of opportunity.
Both the US and India are countries that I love, and I could go on and on about them. But I can’t say that I’m happy with each and every thing that is going on in both the countries. I can strive to do my bit by doing what I can..taking part in the political process in the US, donating to charities in both countries, helping individuals in both whenever I can etc. Nothing is perfect and neither are the two nations. But that does not contradict their greatness and potential for even more greatness. This is a time for Thanksgiving and I would like to give thanks.
May the US and India continue to be blessed. May the world learn from them, and in turn may they also continue to learn from other nations in the world that have a lot to offer. And may they continue to learn from whatever mistakes they have made.
One main reason for thankfulness is the fact that I am associated with two truly great nations, one by birth, nationality and livelihood, the other by ancestry, family ties, spirituality and civilizational heritage,both by values, upbringing and education. The two countries I am talking about are the USA and India. Many people may have different definitions as to how a nation can be classified as truly great. My criteria are as follows. The main criterion is how successful the nation is in allowing its residents to realize their full potential while achieving their ambitions. This involves creating a climate in which people can be reasonably assured that their rights won’t be trampled on by others. Diversity management is another criteria. If a nation has a diverse population, and achieves a sense of common nationhood without having the national government force a common identity, I would count that as a positive point. Last but not least are the values that define a nation. What constitutes ‘national values’ can be debatable, they are indeed somewhat of an ephemeral concept. Values that are ingrained in most of the citizenry and which have been developed via events in the nation’s history is my defnintion of national values. Another criterion for greatness is how successful the country is projecting its values and culture abroad, through the media, films, people to people contacts or economic methods. This is where relatively large countries like the US and India enjoy an advantage over others.
Through the energies of their people and the freedoms their societies enjoy, and the values they have developed throughout their tumultuous histories, both th US and India are unique nations. Although India has existed as a political nation only for relatively brief times in her history (e.g. during Ashoka’s and Akbar’s reigns, and from Independence to the present day) there is has always been a cultural thread uniting the country, chiefly due to the influence of the Indic religions throughout the land (which have also Indianized even foreign religious and philosophical influences). People fleeing persecution from their homelands, like the Zoroastrians and the Jews, have found India to be a welcoming place. Indigenous traditions have also survived countless external invasions, from Alexander to the Islamic invasions of the early part of the second millenium to the British (note: I have nothing against the present day Macedonians, Britons or Indian Muslims). And although India has been officially a democracy for about 54 years, democratic traditions existed even in ancient times. One fact that impresses me a lot about India is the fact that the concept from the Gita…many paths can lead to the same truth, is ingrained in many of the people.The fact that so many different subcultures exist in harmony in India is a testament to this. The fact that India’s experiment in democracy has been successful and the country has not broken up, inspite of what many so called ‘experts’ were saying in the 1980’s when the country was affected by several insurgencies, shows the strength of the common cultural thread.
The US too has a brilliant yet tumultuous history. It is probably the first nation in the world to be found upon principles, especially the principles that all men are created equal and that everyone has a right to pursue happiness. While individualism does playa role in the thinking of most of its citizens, they by and large are happy when they see others, especially underdogs, succeed through hard work and innovation. The US played a major role, if not the most major role, in saving the world from the threats of fascism, and the US was largely instrumental in hastening the end of the threat of world communism. It even fought a war with itself in the 1860’s to remove a contradiction between principles and practices. Being a nation of immigrants, it treats its new residents probably better than any other country treats its immigrants. Being a relatively new country by world history standards, it does not have the burden of an established aristocratic class, hence most people have a strong sense of fairness and believe in equality of opportunity.
Both the US and India are countries that I love, and I could go on and on about them. But I can’t say that I’m happy with each and every thing that is going on in both the countries. I can strive to do my bit by doing what I can..taking part in the political process in the US, donating to charities in both countries, helping individuals in both whenever I can etc. Nothing is perfect and neither are the two nations. But that does not contradict their greatness and potential for even more greatness. This is a time for Thanksgiving and I would like to give thanks.
May the US and India continue to be blessed. May the world learn from them, and in turn may they also continue to learn from other nations in the world that have a lot to offer. And may they continue to learn from whatever mistakes they have made.
