Harvard bans Subramanian Swamy for hate speech yet Indians are willing to listen to his contemptuous divisive drivel without locking him up. America takes the highly unusual step of refusing a visa to Modi for his role in the genocide, yet not only is he a free man in India, but the most likely PM candidate. The world press shudders at the thought of Modi coming to the helm of the worlds largest democracy and asks why the Indian press are not asking him clarifying questions on a subject that he would be forced to answer in a civilized country but we, as a nation, shamelessly ignore what the man has done. In my workshops on critical thinking I use video debates from the Obama/Romney campaigns to have participants identify the logical structure and weaknesses of the arguments. The answers are always highly objective and discerning when they look at American politics (even when they have little familiarity with it, as is the norm) I think in politics it seems that the more distance and objectivity you have from the situation, the more accurate your assessment can be, if you gather multiple points of views. When youre closer to the action, biases can distort your judgment. Religious biases in the Indian context, can make people almost blind to the shortcomings of their co-religionists. It can cause a nation to turn a blind eye to murder. It can cause a nation to turn a blind eye to genocide. :-(
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 05:33:30 +0000