Acrimonious Apathy

"I am not scared, I am not shocked, I don’t feel anything." It's two days after the Mumbai blasts, but the city runs. Drenched in pouring rain and the stench of bloodshed, Mumbai is moving on. Twenty-one people lost their lives. Hundreds lost a limb or a toe. Thousands were traumatized. And millions across the world watched in silent wonderment as Mumbai once again took a toll at the hands of terrorists. It's happened before and it will surely happen again. So, we can just sit around at this narrow stall and enjoy some fresh jalebis.

The common man in India is a miracle. He lives through life, working and laughing, waiting in hope for a better life. He nurtures his dreams through his children-- first, he teaches them lessons of ideals and principles and soon, he exchanges those morals and trains them to speak white lies and commit minor felonies to climb the ladder of the corporate world. And so the child of this common man, like all his peers, unwillingly yet consciously, falls in the face of corruption. This is my land. The land of the free, brave and corrupt.

During a recent visit to India, I engaged in a discussion with my cousin about the way corruption was embedded in every vein of every being who was local to the one country that teaches tales of honesty and perseverance through examples of freedom fighters and mythological heroes. As a child, my mother narrated the story of Valyo lootaro to me every night. The bandit of the jungles reformed himself and became Rishi Valmiki, the great sage who wrote the epic of Ramayan. Today, we lead our lives in reverse. A Valmiki gets lost and trampled in his attempt to embrace honesty while the Valyo soars above with fake certificates and ridiculous bribes. So I asked my cousin, where does it start? Can there be a way to cleanse our people from this vicious virus? And his answer yet again was that it starts with the common man. It takes one man to refuse a bribe. One man to ignore a donation. And just one man to lead a country.

But I disagree. I refuse to admit that the power is bestowed upon a single man. In fact, the power lies in the hands of corporate India. India is one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world. It's middle class is made up of young, educated and liberal minds. The youth is creeping into corporations as engineers, managing directors and CEOs of start-ups. And it's upon this population that the responsibility lies. Our political class is made up of old hags who have been stuck in a blame game since 1947. But we are smarter than that. And perhaps now is the time to say no. The youth in India has already rebelled against many outdated religious traditions and stigmas. It's now time to rebel against those corporate traditions. If you get pulled over for no mistake of your own, refuse to pay the bribe. If you are denied admission because your father can't afford the donation, say good-bye to the greedy dean and pack your bags for a future abroad. But don't do it alone. Bring a friend.

In an effort to cleanse the corruption internally, we will finally recognize the external enemies. A good friend once said, "The key to a strong democracy is to have a common language, a common religion and a common enemy." While it was a wise statement, I'd like to believe that the key to a good country, democracy or not, is to adopt a common principle (of honesty). This bloodshed was a calling that something is wrong. In this country of apathetics, the youth must rise with passion to overturn the corrupt. Because until we defeat the snakes that are hiding under the cloaks of evil politicians and crooked business tycoons, our battle against the terrorists will remain superficial. Once that is done, it'll be easy to kill the bastards who had the nerve to repeatedly attack our most precious city. Mumbai won't take it anymore. India won't be quiet. "I am not scared. I am not shocked. Because, I am empowered!"

References:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-Inc-must-clean-up-its-act-to-rid-country-of-graft/articleshow/9277245.cms
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/13/mumbai-bomb-blasts-india
http://tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws160711Mumbai.asp

Schrodinger's Cat

It is no mystery that I like to draw parallels between real life and science. So here we go again with my analysis of the most paradoxical experiment with Chicago politics, my current life and much more.

Last Tuesday, I lay on my couch under my overused fleece battling fever and sore throat. But I wasn't fighting alone. On the other side of the television screen, Richard M. Daley made an announcement that instantly made me feel worse. We weren't going to witness another term of Mayor Daley!

We have experienced the Daley era in Chicago since 1955 when Richard J. Daley, the father of our current mayor took office. Now Chicago is looking at a blank slate. No heirs to take over. No legacies. No endorsements even!

But aside from the question of who to elect next, Chicago locals have other questions. Why is Mayor Daley abandoning us? Why is he retiring? Why is he not even handing over our future to another life-guard while we drown in this economic recession?

My Chicago is Schrodinger's cat. We stand at the threshold of an unknown future. We stand at the finish-line of a scandalous past. And our current state is like the cat: both alive and dead!

"He is arguably the most accomplished mayor in America today...On the presidential level, we’re always looking for a savior, but Daley shows that a prosaic workhorse sometimes turns out just as well or better," reports NY Times.

Let's shine some light on this great figure whom I have personally met several times. Mayor Daley is not the most eloquent of speakers, but he communicates to Chicagoans with spirit and hope. He united this city that was once divided on the basis of racial, economic and religious distinctions. Sure violence and crime persist, yet we attract new residents to this great city every year. We have established a cultural blend here. We have among the most severe weather conditions and yet we don't believe in hiding in our homes. We find thrills in challenges. Most people attribute the development of Chicago to the Mayor's passionate love for this city.

Speculations for his recent decision mention the deteriorating health of his wife who is a bone cancer survivor. But one is compelled to think as to what other reasons may have contributed to this unwelcome announcement. I believe that Mayor Daley loves Chicago, but he loves his esteem more. Why risk an exemplary reputation for a term that is sure to be filled with obstacles? It only makes sense to step out now with dignity. A wise philosopher once said that the key to true happiness is knowing when to stop.

Economic recession. Losing the 2016 Olympic bid. Blagojevich scandal. Budget deficits. Increasing adolescent crime. Denial to include Chicago in the 2018 Soccer Worldcup bid. I think these are reasons enough to quit gracefully. Mayor Daley wants to close the box now.

Perhaps the Rushdie influence has taken its toll on me since Midnight's Children. Much of Chicago's recent development mimics my own. My life is also Schrodinger's cat. Every outcome is possible until the box opens.

Schrodinger wrote about his experiment, "That prevents us from so naively accepting as valid a "blurred model" for representing reality. In itself, it would not embody anything unclear or contradictory."
"Most of them simply do not see what sort of risky game they are playing with reality—reality as something independent of what is experimentally established. Their interpretation is, however, refuted most elegantly by your system of radioactive atom + amplifier + charge of gunpowder + cat in a box, in which the psi-function of the system contains both the cat alive and blown to bits. Nobody really doubts that the presence or absence of the cat is something independent of the act of observation," Einstein responded, appreciating the genius of Schrodinger.

Quantum superposition actually applies to the state of an atom in the future. This is prediction. Schrodinger's experiment is questioning the state of an atom in the present. This is reality. Not just mine, but everyone's life happens between these two states. You can either know or hope to know. When what you know is unfavorable, you wish the outcome could be postponed so hope can be kept alive. When the opposite is true, you wish the outcome could be revealed because reality gives you closure.

I am not sure which state I prefer right now. My game with reality is getting intense. Here is the true paradox. The choice between knowing and hoping is mine! Until the box is closed, I can live in the blurred model or I can open this box and find out whether the cat is dead.. or alive.





As for Chicago, the box will open in February 2011! :)