https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuemCCmqz_4&feature=youtu.be
Mar 26, 2019
Yuval Noah Harari: "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" | Talks at Google
A profoud articulation of the dilemmas of the present situation - education, technology, values, religion and spirituality
Mar 16, 2019
Preparing ourselves for a future when the children want one...
PREPARING CHILDREN FOR THE FUTURE
Human beings have always had feelings for their children. Societies and families have had visions of the future for their children. Here is an old American Indian Prayer
Great Spirit , Great spirit my grandfather,
look upon these children with children of their own,
that they may face the north wind
and walk the good road to the day of peace
And this is what ABRAHAM LINCOLN had to say to his son’s headmaster.
He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero; that for every selfish politician there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend. It will take time, I know , but teach him, if you can, that a dollar earned is of far more value than five found. Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning, steer him away from envy., if you can; teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick; Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books but also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside. In school, teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong. Teach him to be gentle with gentle people, and tough with the tough. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when every one is getting on the band wagon. Teach him to listen to all men, but teach hi m also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes through.
Human beings have always had feelings for their children. Societies and families have had visions of the future for their children. Here is an old American Indian Prayer
Great Spirit , Great spirit my grandfather,
look upon these children with children of their own,
that they may face the north wind
and walk the good road to the day of peace
And this is what ABRAHAM LINCOLN had to say to his son’s headmaster.
He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero; that for every selfish politician there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend. It will take time, I know , but teach him, if you can, that a dollar earned is of far more value than five found. Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning, steer him away from envy., if you can; teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to lick; Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books but also give him quiet time to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hillside. In school, teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong. Teach him to be gentle with gentle people, and tough with the tough. Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when every one is getting on the band wagon. Teach him to listen to all men, but teach hi m also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good that comes through.
Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness. Teach him to to sell his brawn an d brain to the higher bidders, but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient; let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order, but see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow, my son.
In the twentieth century we hear a different flavour of things that an adult may say to a young one.
Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I”ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains,
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways, I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests,
I”ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans,
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard, And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.
Bob Dylan
Adults hold the soil of today, and this is the soil from where tomorrow has to spring.. If the adults of tomorrow, the children of today were to ask us, `Tell me O’ adult, what can I look forward to?’
Would we say `My dear, I would like to say that you have rosy tomorrows, in this paradise of hues and colours and creatures. You have golden relationships to look forward to and magical possibilities. But I am afraid this can’t be said. Men have ravaged this planet with their dreams and their toils. They have ravaged each other with their minds. The beauty of songs is drowned by the clatter of man made things. And far more dangerous, men everywhere appear to believe that this is the right way to live. This my child is the world you will inherit.
And the young one could say `Surely you exaggerate O adult. Things can’t be so bad. I see smiles and hear laughter,. Surely you adults and those before you could not have let things come to such a pass.
Would we say, `Yes things are not as bad as that. There is the good and there is the bad. The good things are that there is enough food. The bad is that man does not know how to distribute it. The good news is that there is a splendid diversity of life and beauty on this planet. The bad news is that there are few eyes and fewer hearts to meet this richness. There is a wealth of hope in human hearts but they turn sour in human minds. We say the animals and birds and fishes are important but we use them and their numbers are dying.
So my young friend, Yes there are many fine ideas and many dreams in the minds of adults. But there is also a curious tragedy. Man has learnt to live in two worlds simultaneously, the world of noble ideas and then that of the most corrupt base actions. We talk of progress, but quality of life and relationships have not improved, probably become starker. We speak of need to protect forests and continue to lead ecologically unsustainable lives. And if the young were to say, `why then did you bring me to this earth? Was it to meet this awful situations? Or was it an accident of lust? Is this the best gift to your children and grandchildren?’
What would we say? Would we be silent? We could say some things surely. Of course we would need to get off any pedestals we may be sitting on.
My young friend, we have learnt a few deep lessons for tomorrow. We have struggled, may be not too well to live them. But in the time we have we will join you and share with you these lessons.
We have learnt that more is not better than less. In fact finding out what one needs is the answer. Also we need far less than we think we do. A bigger house or more wealth has not made a happier man.
We have learnt that abundance can be turned into scarcity. Air, water, forests wildlife have all shrunk, thanks to the way we have taken them for granted. Finding a way of life where we do not take things for granted is the answer, but live with respect, if not reverence for the bounties of sunlight, fresh water , air.
We have learnt that human beings know little about love. To most of us love is attachment. There is great boredom born of familiarity and then great emptiness. We need to ask, you and I, what love means. We need to ask also what brings dignity and beauty. The less man knows about these things, louder has been the rhetoric.
We have learnt painfully that we need to rediscover our legs. Cars and other transport leave behind ghostly graveyards, fill the earth with smoke and ruin. Time and speed are things we have chased for the past 200 years. How much do we need to travel and how? Our legs need to find strength again and we need to discover again that small steps can take us far. That small is truly beautiful.
We have learnt that religious beliefs while they are supposed to bring people together, seem to carry seeds of division. That religion is different from religious life. We need to learn to live a religious life.
Our young child may continue. `I feel happy to hear all this and see some direction. But tell me is all this only for me,. for the future? Are you telling me what I need to do? What are you, the adult going to do? Are you only going to tell me to do things which you are not able to do?
What will we say?
Will it be `My child I am tired and quite set in my ways. It is very difficult for me to change. So this is the best I can offer. Advice from the sidelines.’
Or will it be : “My child you have asked a difficult question. I see that we are both in the same boat psychologically. We both have habits and patterns. And I was a child not too long ago.
I am willing to change. I feel afraid as I say this. And I will walk with you. We all have to learn a new way of living. And I might as well begin now.”
Treat him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes fine steel. Let him have the courage to be impatient; let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order, but see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow, my son.
In the twentieth century we hear a different flavour of things that an adult may say to a young one.
Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I”ve stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains,
I’ve walked and I’ve crawled on six crooked highways, I’ve stepped in the middle of seven sad forests,
I”ve been out in front of a dozen dead oceans,
I’ve been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard, And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.
Bob Dylan
Adults hold the soil of today, and this is the soil from where tomorrow has to spring.. If the adults of tomorrow, the children of today were to ask us, `Tell me O’ adult, what can I look forward to?’
Would we say `My dear, I would like to say that you have rosy tomorrows, in this paradise of hues and colours and creatures. You have golden relationships to look forward to and magical possibilities. But I am afraid this can’t be said. Men have ravaged this planet with their dreams and their toils. They have ravaged each other with their minds. The beauty of songs is drowned by the clatter of man made things. And far more dangerous, men everywhere appear to believe that this is the right way to live. This my child is the world you will inherit.
And the young one could say `Surely you exaggerate O adult. Things can’t be so bad. I see smiles and hear laughter,. Surely you adults and those before you could not have let things come to such a pass.
Would we say, `Yes things are not as bad as that. There is the good and there is the bad. The good things are that there is enough food. The bad is that man does not know how to distribute it. The good news is that there is a splendid diversity of life and beauty on this planet. The bad news is that there are few eyes and fewer hearts to meet this richness. There is a wealth of hope in human hearts but they turn sour in human minds. We say the animals and birds and fishes are important but we use them and their numbers are dying.
So my young friend, Yes there are many fine ideas and many dreams in the minds of adults. But there is also a curious tragedy. Man has learnt to live in two worlds simultaneously, the world of noble ideas and then that of the most corrupt base actions. We talk of progress, but quality of life and relationships have not improved, probably become starker. We speak of need to protect forests and continue to lead ecologically unsustainable lives. And if the young were to say, `why then did you bring me to this earth? Was it to meet this awful situations? Or was it an accident of lust? Is this the best gift to your children and grandchildren?’
What would we say? Would we be silent? We could say some things surely. Of course we would need to get off any pedestals we may be sitting on.
My young friend, we have learnt a few deep lessons for tomorrow. We have struggled, may be not too well to live them. But in the time we have we will join you and share with you these lessons.
We have learnt that more is not better than less. In fact finding out what one needs is the answer. Also we need far less than we think we do. A bigger house or more wealth has not made a happier man.
We have learnt that abundance can be turned into scarcity. Air, water, forests wildlife have all shrunk, thanks to the way we have taken them for granted. Finding a way of life where we do not take things for granted is the answer, but live with respect, if not reverence for the bounties of sunlight, fresh water , air.
We have learnt that human beings know little about love. To most of us love is attachment. There is great boredom born of familiarity and then great emptiness. We need to ask, you and I, what love means. We need to ask also what brings dignity and beauty. The less man knows about these things, louder has been the rhetoric.
We have learnt painfully that we need to rediscover our legs. Cars and other transport leave behind ghostly graveyards, fill the earth with smoke and ruin. Time and speed are things we have chased for the past 200 years. How much do we need to travel and how? Our legs need to find strength again and we need to discover again that small steps can take us far. That small is truly beautiful.
We have learnt that religious beliefs while they are supposed to bring people together, seem to carry seeds of division. That religion is different from religious life. We need to learn to live a religious life.
Our young child may continue. `I feel happy to hear all this and see some direction. But tell me is all this only for me,. for the future? Are you telling me what I need to do? What are you, the adult going to do? Are you only going to tell me to do things which you are not able to do?
What will we say?
Will it be `My child I am tired and quite set in my ways. It is very difficult for me to change. So this is the best I can offer. Advice from the sidelines.’
Or will it be : “My child you have asked a difficult question. I see that we are both in the same boat psychologically. We both have habits and patterns. And I was a child not too long ago.
I am willing to change. I feel afraid as I say this. And I will walk with you. We all have to learn a new way of living. And I might as well begin now.”
G.Gautama
(First published Nov 2002 The Hindu)
(First published Nov 2002 The Hindu)
Mar 8, 2019
Teacher at crossroads - in war zone
For the better part of 30 years I have been trying to get young students and colleagues to speak their mind and to listen to each other. This has been based on the understanding that if people speak their truths, however unrefined and own their feelings and assumptions, and if they carefully non reactively listen to other views, there is the possibility of something new emerging. Something that does nt belong to any one person, but owned collectively, seeded with wisdom from each one and collectively held, harmoniously. And I have seen this happen multiple times, people shifting their views, suggesting, questioning assumptions and co-creating solutions, adjustments and new directions. Today in this endeavour I find myself in the middle of a war…and inner battle zone.
Schools and school teachers have been struggling to educate the young and have discovered many hurdles. One reason is that school education needed individuals to read and repeat to demonstrate understanding. It being assumed that this process will help them understand and they will be able to get into colleges and get jobs. As every teacher knows there are barriers to this logic and equation. Repeating what another has said, in a book or class, rarely leads to understanding. The context and atmosphere of school has a great influence on the learner. Fear of teacher, peers or anxiety about how one will be received, block exploration and thinking. And this leads one to a predictable circular orbit. Stay safe, don’t attempt something new, repeat that which kept you safe!
In the face of this dilemma, I discovered, like many teachers, that people learn best when they can try something new without fear of consequence and listen to each other. Much of my life as a teacher and head of school I have spent my energies in conversation… with the young and the adults. And conversation meant that people spoke and listened and invited each other so speak. I wrote a small piece called ‘toolkit for a flowing community in 2002’ that summed up the challenge of creating a participatory fabric. Today I find myself reading a different toolkit in the world around us…
I am not just afraid, but terrified for the implications of the new toolkit for education and for the direction India is taking. My questions for school education are -
Is it wrong for a child to ask what bathing after an eclipse does for our body and mind, or why we wear caps or a bindi, or why we follow a ritual?
Do children need to hear different views on a subject or just one view, one explanation? How is one view, one explanation different from indoctrination, brain washing?
Should children be invited to construct meaning and learn from multiple constructions, or should they be given just one interpretation, one construction, one gospel?
Does India want its young to participate in the new world where disruptive thinking is the order of the day? Will children learn to use their intelligence or just conform?
Do we wish for children what Tagore dreamt, India ‘Where the mind is without fear’… or do we teach fear? Fear of another view, fear of speaking and fear of consequence…retribution?
On the one hand we want India to be a world economic superpower. But on the other we seem to be sowing seeds in the school education system that will hamper the people leading India into the future.
As a teacher I face a dilemma -
Do I teach resilient participation and ownership to students so they can be effective citizens? Or do I teach conformity, to obey commands and orders, to accept views of ‘the knowledgeable’? Do I teach for the young to own and solve challenges of the 21st century or to be Macaulay’s children, clerks who will do the masters’ biddings?
India cannot have both - healthy advancement will be though an intelligent population that collaborates through freedom of thinking. This cannot happen in an atmosphere where the minds are gently or toughly required to conform to given thoughts. Conformity will bring order and tame the masses, at least outwardly. But what about the human spirit that defies restrictions? Such an approach will serve, not India, but the same colonial forces that once bridled this country. And in a system where the individual is bridled with fear… there is but one natural consequence… uprising, disorder, mayhem, bloodshed …I quote from a young mind who expresses herself eloquently in an unsought piece -
“Mere independence does not mean freedom. In many countries, individuals are independent, but are they free? Freedom and intelligence go hand in hand. By being able to question and observe we get the space to know the various factors that surround us in our daily life.
For a community / country to function without chaos or confusion, there ought to be norms that will help everyone explore in a safe manner. These rules can be considered in two ways - restrictions and restraints. Restrictions are when one does not understand the purpose of the norm and consider it to be a obstruction to their way of living. It is an external actin and not thought about deeply.
Restraints on the other hand, are controlled responses, which I feel can only occur when one truly reflects and know why something is being said. I think freedom play a role here too because you have an opportunity to respond carefully.”
Deeksha Grade 11
But hope does not die easily in the human heart. If the terror of consequence is a restraining force, then the hope of a place where one can be oneself, express one’s being, too lies deep in the human heart. India has won independence but is there freedom for the individual? As Shri J.Krishnamurti says, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
The author serves as an Educator - Learner in Pathashaala, serving in the roles of Director and Secretary at Palar Centre for Learning (PCFL-KFI), one of the 6 educational centre of KFI. He can be reached at gautama2006@gmail.com.
Published in Teacherplus March 2019 as Fighting the Inner Wars
Schools and school teachers have been struggling to educate the young and have discovered many hurdles. One reason is that school education needed individuals to read and repeat to demonstrate understanding. It being assumed that this process will help them understand and they will be able to get into colleges and get jobs. As every teacher knows there are barriers to this logic and equation. Repeating what another has said, in a book or class, rarely leads to understanding. The context and atmosphere of school has a great influence on the learner. Fear of teacher, peers or anxiety about how one will be received, block exploration and thinking. And this leads one to a predictable circular orbit. Stay safe, don’t attempt something new, repeat that which kept you safe!
In the face of this dilemma, I discovered, like many teachers, that people learn best when they can try something new without fear of consequence and listen to each other. Much of my life as a teacher and head of school I have spent my energies in conversation… with the young and the adults. And conversation meant that people spoke and listened and invited each other so speak. I wrote a small piece called ‘toolkit for a flowing community in 2002’ that summed up the challenge of creating a participatory fabric. Today I find myself reading a different toolkit in the world around us…
Is it wrong for a child to ask what bathing after an eclipse does for our body and mind, or why we wear caps or a bindi, or why we follow a ritual?
Do children need to hear different views on a subject or just one view, one explanation? How is one view, one explanation different from indoctrination, brain washing?
Should children be invited to construct meaning and learn from multiple constructions, or should they be given just one interpretation, one construction, one gospel?
Does India want its young to participate in the new world where disruptive thinking is the order of the day? Will children learn to use their intelligence or just conform?
Do we wish for children what Tagore dreamt, India ‘Where the mind is without fear’… or do we teach fear? Fear of another view, fear of speaking and fear of consequence…retribution?
On the one hand we want India to be a world economic superpower. But on the other we seem to be sowing seeds in the school education system that will hamper the people leading India into the future.
As a teacher I face a dilemma -
Do I teach resilient participation and ownership to students so they can be effective citizens? Or do I teach conformity, to obey commands and orders, to accept views of ‘the knowledgeable’? Do I teach for the young to own and solve challenges of the 21st century or to be Macaulay’s children, clerks who will do the masters’ biddings?
India cannot have both - healthy advancement will be though an intelligent population that collaborates through freedom of thinking. This cannot happen in an atmosphere where the minds are gently or toughly required to conform to given thoughts. Conformity will bring order and tame the masses, at least outwardly. But what about the human spirit that defies restrictions? Such an approach will serve, not India, but the same colonial forces that once bridled this country. And in a system where the individual is bridled with fear… there is but one natural consequence… uprising, disorder, mayhem, bloodshed …I quote from a young mind who expresses herself eloquently in an unsought piece -
“Mere independence does not mean freedom. In many countries, individuals are independent, but are they free? Freedom and intelligence go hand in hand. By being able to question and observe we get the space to know the various factors that surround us in our daily life.
For a community / country to function without chaos or confusion, there ought to be norms that will help everyone explore in a safe manner. These rules can be considered in two ways - restrictions and restraints. Restrictions are when one does not understand the purpose of the norm and consider it to be a obstruction to their way of living. It is an external actin and not thought about deeply.
Restraints on the other hand, are controlled responses, which I feel can only occur when one truly reflects and know why something is being said. I think freedom play a role here too because you have an opportunity to respond carefully.”
Deeksha Grade 11
But hope does not die easily in the human heart. If the terror of consequence is a restraining force, then the hope of a place where one can be oneself, express one’s being, too lies deep in the human heart. India has won independence but is there freedom for the individual? As Shri J.Krishnamurti says, “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
The author serves as an Educator - Learner in Pathashaala, serving in the roles of Director and Secretary at Palar Centre for Learning (PCFL-KFI), one of the 6 educational centre of KFI. He can be reached at gautama2006@gmail.com.
Published in Teacherplus March 2019 as Fighting the Inner Wars
Feb 6, 2019
What is the use of observation?
A young student walked up to me as I was drinking water at the water machine. And she asked, "What is one to do with what one observes, when one observes one's actions?" She continued, "I feel I have to do something about what I see of myself, and don't know what to do. It leave a troubled feeling. When I see something outside I do something about it. But the same approach does not seem to work here. What am I to do?"
At 16. 17 did I ask such questions? Dis I see the world as these young people are seeing? Surely not!
In the world that I grew that anger, hatred, jealousy, envy, sadness and sexual feelings were all to be pushed away, out of sight. It was not till one came in touch with the teachings of J Krishnamurti, that one heard a profound question. "Can you look at anger like a jewel? Can you look at it without judging it as good or bad, without any condemnation or justification?" What a profound question!
Is not anger bad to be seen, recognized and to be subdued? Or is not righteous anger to be used in certain places, where there is obvious injustice? What could he mean when he says, can you look at it as jewel? Is it a jewel? Or is anger something to be ashamed of, afraid of and to hold in shame?
All one's life one has grown up absorbing the message that some feelings and emotions are positive and others are negative. When K says that there are no positive felings or negative feelings, only feelings. And like thought they arise and then On meeting such a radical view, what does one do? Can one drop the earlier perceptions and beliefs? This would mean that such beliefs were false.
One is confronted with a dilemma. Do I deny all that I have been taught, all that I considered truth? And then enter this difficult zone? Is Krishnamurti saying, it is all right to be angry and express it, and be envious and be vengeful?
After some pondering one realises that Krishnamurti is not endorsing expression of all one feels. He seems to point out that we all go through various emotions and we either justify them or endorse them. He seems to be asking if one can do neither but just look, as one would a cloud in the sky or a bird on the grass. He seems to be suggesting that such a look is possible, an inward gaze, one where one can come close to oneself, understanding oneself, understanding what memories we carry, what hurts, what anger and sadness.
One is of course tempted to ask, if such an observation will free one of the painful feelings, as my student asked me. May be the past survives with such strength as it is denied and pushed away or justified. If one were to just observe, and one stops resisting looking at oneself, moment to moment, one begins to know oneself.
K suggests that "Understanding what is transforms what is!"
It was wonderful to be part of a conversation with young minds, some obviously engaged, some looking bored, but with deep contributions accurately, and others listening with care except for a word her or a statement ot elaborate what someone else said. The evening sun, stone benches, shade of neem trees and a deep and gentle conversation, real as the young people comprehending themselves and life. What a privilege to be have access to this space of digntiy, grace and enquiry!
Heart in the right place.... .
I had a strange encounter with this phrase with a touch of candid truth and it left me deeply touched and privileged.
One of the students, a senior girl, had handled a stray dog when it was ill and there was need for the customary precautions, several injections. This young person was a known animal lover and would do anything to protect and take care of other creatures including mice. She had been extremely disciplined in this regard at school and so this was surprising.The world needs such people, those who value other life forms.
I called her with the intention of speaking to her sternly. As soon as she came to my table she said, "My heart is in the right place, but my action was wrong!" I could only smile and see the human dilemma... all thoughts of censuring disappeared. The beauty of her simple admission on both sides was refreshingly honest, direct and so creative.
How could one direct, judge, criticise or berate someone just because one is older! And how well she stood by her feeling for the young dog, and how dignified she was in an action she knew would put her at risk, and therefore was wrong!
I felt lucky to share this special moment of communication with a young student and wondered. Can communication be such that we are able to speak about our dilemmas and with some depth and sweetness... not defensive, not blaming and yet admitting to our humanness with simplicty.
My education took a further step today...
Dec 23, 2013
Drinking - driving - education - parenting
1st week Nov 2013
It is with sadness one woke up to the news of the accident near the Chennai Lighthouse. Drunk driving by student claims three lives in Chennai - was the Hindu headline above a mangled car. A policeman on duty and 2 fisher folk, a man and a woman lost their life as they were earning their livelihood. All the occupants survived, as they possibly wore seat belts. I reflected and a piece to a reputed news paper. There were questions, many of the. But no response for more than a month! And then...
2nd week Dec 2013
Then there was one more piece of news - much bigger personality, much bigger car and the heart of business in India. But the surprising thing was that there are hardly any reports except form one daring Indian news channel, one newspaper, Al Jazeera and a French Blog that spoke about 2 Indias. The news and the circumstances, hushed down more effectively than in any totalitarian state. Hushed voices, one smells fear, fear of losing business. Truth and reporting be damned, business, holy business!
Business goes on as usual - the most expensive car wrecked, surely covered by insurance. None arrested, none charged!
I decided to put it on my blog.
Drunk driving by student claims three lives in Chennai - was the Hindu headline above a mangled car. All the occupants survived, as they possibly wore seat belts. A policeman on duty and 2 fisher folk, a man and a woman lost their life as they were earning their livelihood. Having been in conversations with 16 to 18 year olds for over 2 decades, this news galvanised me into writing this piece.
It is one in a series of other such accidents one reads about all over the country. Surely we are saddened, angry and have some thoughts on how such things happen! Those who were irresponsible were out enjoying themselves. Those who died were earning their livelihood. Those who were entertaining themselves had lifebelts to save them from themselves and others. Those who were earning their livelihood, walking on the road or just standing, did not have life lines, or barriers against the privileged, protected entertainment seekers.
And soon the din will settle. The families will receive compensation for the dead members. And the violators of law will be let off by loopholes in law; much more let off by the privileges they command. The equations established for the future, precedents set, life will return to normal, 3 photographs will slowly gather dust in 3 homes. Embittered family members will slowly count their fortune at receiving the dole, and time and memory will slowly pour dust over one more accident. But was this an accident, or a business-as-usual for a society that has chosen its direction? And you and I are part of this society?
Some easy questions -
Why was the boy driving so fast? The answer is obvious - that is what people his age do and that is how they are expected to behave. That it is dangerous to others and himself is neither mentioned in any advertisement nor is the reprimand ever strong enough to bring this to a full halt.
The police are happy if they meet their targets. The government is happy if the cars and bikes keep jamming our roads. Not only will there be revenue, jobs and a good economy, there will be political and economic power. Of course the media does not wish to stop this. What will happen if car and motorcycle advertisements start to decrease!
We are a developing nation and everyone has a right, familial or earned, to a drive and a personal vehicle. This is upward mobility, this is fun, and this is ‘in’!
Did any of his car companions try to stop him? Ralph Nader did speak about ‘Unsafe at Any Speed!’ What would he say if he saw the mayhem on our roads?
Or were they too enjoying the speed?
How will they stop him if they are in the same league? Would one of his companions asked the driver to stop and say that he / she wished to get off? That they do not wish to be part of this madness? … part of this exciting madness!
What happened to the education of these young people? Did no one tell them that when you are behind a steering wheel you can kill?
Yes they did say in school, occasionally and in a dry manner. They did speak of the dangers of crossing roads and the need to look right, left and right again. But none spoke about the time ahead, possibly. None anticipated the future and none pressed the point home to the young minds, of the dangers and the responsibility of power.
And of course the teachers could not too much. The advertisements were strong, powerful, seductive and subliminal. Children in school years were the markets of the future, part of the projection in next 3, 5 and 10 years. Getting the message across to the young was a matter of urgency for the companies that make cars and 2 wheelers. A matter of being there in the market place when the young were ready with power and money! It was very urgent to buy their minds before the students could buy the products. You had to sell and sell hard! Where is room in the hard sell to have any restraining messages? Which company can say, “ We give you a powerful vehicle that can zip, BUT PLEASE DRIVE AT 40! No one goes faster than that in any city in the world on an average. It is far more important to go safe and create safety for people around you. It is far more important to be gracious, when a pedestrian has to cross. That is the privilege and responsibility of power!” Who would say this? The car companies sell brute power, appealing to the subliminal feelings. How can they sell graciousness!
Yes, this is the market but what happened to the home and the school?
The home is the marketplace, where the voices of children are big. Research is showing that the market is winning. More and more purchase decisions are influenced by children. Ralph Nader wrote in 1997, two brief, chilling paragraphs -
“A struggle different than any before in world history is intensifying between corporations and parents. It is a struggle over the minds, bodies, time and space of millions of children and the kind of world they are growing up in.
Year by year parents are losing con-trol over their own children to the omni- penetrating hucksterism of companies. Driven by tens of billions of dollars in sales, profits, bonuses and stock options, the men driving giant companies are in a race to the bottom with their competitors - always pushing, pushing the range of violence, sex, addiction, and low-grade sensuality through evermore manipulative delivery systems.”
Is it surprising if we are seeing “results”?
Did the student not know that he was not to drive so fast, so late and this state?
How will he? The weak voices of parents, well wishers and teachers do not have the potency of a 30 sec ad burned into the minds of a young one. And all ads say the same thing - live life int he fast track. Shiny gadgets, late nights, bright lights, loud music and of course cars, bikes, and speed.
How will he, surrounded by people of similar age, brainwashed in a corralled enclosure of messages, loud, insistent and powerful? Where are conversations around the dining table today that communicate graciousness and culture? Where is the sharing that builds character and values?
Did the parents think it normal for young people to be out at 3, partying? And did they think that at such parties only soft drinks and lassi is served? In other words do loving parents approve of alcohol as a regular, good thing for their children to consume? If so then they surely must be consuming it at home, if not regularly, certainly infrequently. Have they never heard of alcoholism as a disease? Or do they think these tiresome problems happen only to others’ children?
Had the young driver been fined for speeding or drunken driving before? What action did the police take, or the parents? In India students do not start earning so it safe to assume that the car given to the student was a bestowal from parents and not a hard earned privilege.
I read in this tragedy the anxious message that we have a society headed towards greater irresponsibility. The amalgam of wealth and bestowal, lack of restraining influences at home and among peers, the powerful corporate message is pushing, pushing, herding the energetic youth towards reckless, lawless and irresponsible action. And we are the bystanders watching, helplessly!
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