Dearest friends, Hope you are all well. It has been more than six months since rt81!! Wow. How time flies! Life is flying away verily like a breeze. In two days I will be a married man, and so I seek all of your blessings. I know many of you won't be there - how I wish we could throw a grand party with hundreds of people - but I hope you can all come to some party in the future and bless us in person. I thought I was busy before, but being in a relationship, getting ready for wedding (two ceremonies on two different dates in two different places) while trying to get some research done, and I can barely keep up with email. Now I know what you all are going through :) But being a soccer lover, I did find time to watch almost all world cup games, though in my defense I would say that much of it was on fast forward or while doing something else :) But I don't regret a moment of it. After all it happens once in four years. I found it very purifying. Brought back the kid in me and cleared much of the garbage that accumulates in the mind as you grow up. In particular it helped me grow weary of politics. Politics did become an obsession some time during the healthcare debate. I have developed a deep and abiding admiration for President Obama and wanted to do all I can to help him succeed. I was shocked and dismayed (as probably many of you were) by the vile propaganda that was sweeping across the nation, dividing people and inciting violence and hatred. I wanted to do my part to counter the misinformation and was disappointed to see the pessimism and doubts amongst liberals. But after watching soccer and thanks to my sweet Nicole's love my mind has cleared a bit and I can see politics for the fool's errand that it is. What we really need to do is to change attitudes of people, though I still plan to volunteer politically to the extent it helps to create a healthy society. Anyway here are all the random thoughts that I have been squirreling away for the past six months. Much of it is about politics, and a little dated, both in terms of relevance and my own perspective. But I hope you find them interesting. If you are getting this for the first time, I send these once in a while and you can read all of them at http://www.nature-lover.net/writings Please do let me know how life is treating you! Yours, Sankar Random Thoughts (82) 7/7/2010 1. There are great leaders in every country but I think one reason America is where it is today is that there are many good leaders here at every level - starting from the smallest community to the President himself. If there has to be development in places like Africa and South Asia and the Middle East, it has to be done by training young people in schools throughout the country to be leaders in their own communities, to speak up for justice and to spark the renaissance of their villages, towns and provinces spiritually and materially. I know this can be done because I have felt much growth in myself, mainly through osmosis, since coming to America 20 years ago. If I can improve like this, then any kid anywhere in the world could. 2. It is dismaying how defensive democrats are. Looks like Republicans are always setting the agenda, driving the debate, etc., They are simply more assertive and aggressive. Democrats need to stop defending themselves, whether it is healthcare or climate change and start speaking louder especially on these issues where they have, I believe, the better argument on their side. They don't need to attack Republicans and play the same silly political games, but just be assertive and know that they have the right message and plan for the country. Though I would prefer to be non-partisan, lately I believe the Republicans are simply way too wrong on too many issues. If you care about the thousands of people unable to take care of themselves when they get sick, or the impending disaster (and ongoing disasters) due to climate change, I don't care whether you are Republican or Democrat, but I don't see how you cannot act. At least in the interest of self interest, if not the health of the US and the world, we all need to step up and do everything we could possibly could to combat these problems. If someone's house is burning, we would certainly pitch in. One needs to approach these issues with the same level of seriousness. Because even if we are not affected today, tomorrow we might be. 3. (1/11/10) I think I have finally found the secret to working hard and getting lot of stuff done without getting stressed out. The point is that it is not the work itself that stresses you out, but rather the worrying about whether we are finishing it on time, whether we are doing too much, too little, when is it going to end, etc., In fact if it is something we enjoy doing, we don't get stressed out at all! The more we are really engrossed in the task at hand, the more we enjoy it. Even if it is something that you don't enjoy to begin with, if you devote your entire attention to it eventually you WILL start enjoying it. So the secret is to really focus one's entire attention on the task at hand. The mere fact that you are getting stuff done will make it enjoyable and add to a virtuous feedback cycle. 4. (1/29/10) To my liberal friends who are upset and disappointed about what is going on, such as the health care debacle, I say I am as disappointed as you are with the democrats and to some extent with Obama for not being able to pass a bill with a strong public option. But let us not spite our own nose in the process, but rather take action by talking to non-liberals, on the streets, on the airwaves, over the internet, and try to change people's misconceptions about these things. If you are really disappointed and frustrated, do something about it by talking to people. It doesn't help if you simply blame it on Obama or the Democrats. We need to roll up our sleeves and go to work. Dejection and despair won't do. Meanwhile, the right-wingers have done a good job of scaring the population. 5. (1/31/10) Washington's weather is very unpredictable. Yesterday we went on a hike expecting, according to the forecast, not much chance of snow. Instead, the snow started falling at inch an hour and we had to beat a retreat. It turned out to be a good move because by the time we got to DC there were several inches of snow on the ground. The good thing, though, is that tomorrow it may get warmer again. Any day could be a spring day here, or mid-winter, for that matter. 6. (2/25/10) Funny article: Is math a socialist plot? http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_02_10.html 7. (3/6/10) This is very heartwarming...A Muslim scholar's fatwa against terrorism: [You should also read Fareed Zakaria's newsweek article about how moderate Muslims are winning against the extremists] "They [terrorists] can't claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Muslim Umma [global brotherhood]. No, they become heroes of hellfire, and they are leading towards hellfire. There is no place for any martyrdom and their act is never, ever to be considered jihad"--- Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri, a London-based Pakistani Muslim scholar. Ul-Qadri is head of the Minhaj ul-Quran religious and educational organization, founded in Pakistan in 1980 to promote peace and interfaith dialogue around the globe. (Source: Al Jazeera) 8. (3/14/10) It is good to have reasonable Republicans to raise suspicions against government and spending at the same time as reasonable Democrats do it against the corporations. Coming from a third world country, I know how corrupt and wasteful Government can be. We all know how corporations can be poor citizens, as well. Often the right policy is difficult to know. Only time will tell in such cases, and so it is good to make decisions after a spirited debate and let the best policy win over time. We are entering an era of co-operation. Businesses and consumer groups have to work together, as should countries that were erstwhile enemies. 9. I attended an Obama rally at George Mason university regarding the health care reform plan. It was mostly university students with a good number of older folks like myself. The energy inside the basketball stadium was impressive. The feeling of history being made was palpable. That he had to go to such lengths even such a centrist bill, without far-reaching changes in the system, was regrettable. Nevertheless I came away very impressed. 10. (3/21/10) We were walking on the national mall. Sunset on a glorious march day. We passed by some tea party people in town to protest the healthcare bill. I had noticed that many of them were doing a bit of tourism, enjoying the sights of DC. Actually there were more people just enjoying the mall, either tourists or locals playing soccer or sunbathing, than there were tea party protesters. Though it was clear to me from their banners that many of them have been misled and misinformed, I felt that it was good that they were out and about, in a different city, mingling with people with different views and backgrounds. Misinformation tends to thrive in narrow confined areas. I hope that by getting to know people who are different they will emerge from this cloud of ignorance and delusion created by the venomous talk shows, which have created a deep seated fear of the new and diverse America (as opposed to the "real" America). It is really not about democrats/liberals, whites/colored, but about narrow minded and open minded. Here are a couple of eye-opening articles about this: http://www.nytimes.com//2010/03/23/opinion/23herbert.html?hp http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/22/AR2010032201813.html 11. Monday April 26, 2010 Sun shades cool parking lots, pump out solar energy http://www.businessweek.com/investing/green_business/archives/2008/05/sun_shades_cool_parking_lots_pump _out_solar_energy.html Google's parking lot gets solar panels enough to power 1,000 homes and produces 30% of its energy needs! http://www.ecofriend.org/entry/googles-parking-lot-gets-solar-panels-enough-to-power-1000-homes/ 12. Sometime ago Saturday Night Live had a digital short visualizing a Sarah Palin ruled world as imagined by Keith Olbermann that is full of apocalyptic scenes. I want to update it with the following: It is 2020. In the U.S, ethnic studies, Islamic studies, teaching of evolution, global warming, have all been outlawed. There is only one more piece of heresy that has to be gotten rid of. And that is the claim of mathematicians that p is a transcendental number. According to the bible, p = 3, a whole number, because the Old Testament (1 Kings &:23) says that "And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about." So they propose a law that henceforth people shall use the value of 3 for p, despite the warning of scientists that this will create havoc with civilization as we know. Then Republican lawmakers pillory the scientists at hearings and launch investigations into their papers and credentials. Slowly public opinion changes until polls show that 60 percent think mathematicians are working for the devil. Pat Robertson quotes St. Augustine who said "The good Christian should beware of mathematicians, and all those who make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine man in the bonds of Hell." Soon the law is passed, and as predicted, civilization comes to a halt.... Well, that was a joke, of course, but believe it or not, there are serious people who try to reconcile this apparent error in the Bible. Either they do some arithmetical and semantic gymnastics to show that the passage can be interpreted in a way that shows that pi = 3.14 according to the scripture (now, that is still an approximation, but anyways...) or they say that one cannot conclude that the bible says pi = 3 because it was clearly only using an approximation. The latter argument sounds more reasonable, but maybe the answer to the fundamentalists' problems lies here...Just accept that the Bible (just as the Quran, the Vedas, etc.,) expresses the truth to the best of the knowledge extant at that time, and that sometimes it speaks metaphorically and not every word is to be taken literally? But that is not possible, you see. The fundamentalist's belief is that every word of the scripture came directly from God. So the real question is, do you have to be a fundamentalist to be a believer? The fundamentalist relies on a certain circular logic that is difficult to defy. The scripture is the word of God because it says so. 13. How to deal with Americans who are not so smart (like myself?). Obama is honest, for the most part. He tries to reason. Republicans have never tried to reason. This is a serious problem. Even the stupidest person would eventually catch the truth. You can hide behind seductively convincing sound-bites only for so long. 14. In a previous "random thoughts" I might have written about how I met congressman Perriello. I recently happened to read about him. He is what they call a "conviction politician." This is a great story about a truly inspiring politician: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/house/ask-freshman-rep-tom-perriello.html 15. We were watching the movie Hitch with Will Smith playing relationship coach. He starts by saying "90% of communication is not verbal" and advising men on how to act. Well, I am grateful that there were women who liked me in spite of my klutziness and who valued substance over style. I am very grateful that one of them liked me so much she is going to marry me. 16. Nicole and I saw "Avatar" recently. (unfortunately, only in 2D). We were not terribly impressed by the story but the amazing visuals and settings kept us engrossed for the first hour or so. Nevertheless the more I think about it the more layers are revealed. It is certainly a commentary and criticism of the prevalent themes of our society - the frightening power of technology, the power, the reach and greed of corporations, tribal and ethnic allegiances giving way to a global village ethos, clash of civilizations, conflict between man and nature, sustainability of human civilization and preservation of natural habitats,... 17. (5/24/10) Watched a bit of Rand Paul's interview with the Louisville Opinion / Courier-Journal. His answers seemed very reasonable on some issues, but very unreasonable on others. You should watch it just to get an insight into conservative politicians' thought process. I like his opposition to corporate welfare, corporate money in government and the Iraq war. I was perplexed by his answers on poverty, abortion, gun rights, civil rights, etc. In general conservatives seem to be stretching logic to suit their personal preferences when it comes to these issues. For example, they (including Paul, during this interview) support gun rights saying guns don't kill people. Yet they are in favor of taking away decisions about their children from women. Why not see that almost all women care more about their babies than the government and would make the right decision, and that the ones who are bent on abortion might do it anyway? Also, it is not clear the constitution provides gun rights to individuals (as opposed to militia). Nevertheless, his interview is worth watching. http://www.courier-journal.com/louisville-editorials 18. (5/25/10) Watched Fareed Zakaria GPS about corrupt and mafia-like actions of the Russian state apparatus. Really scary stuff. It showed we are indeed in a dangerous world, with some rather unscrupulous leaders - in Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, the middle east...Under these circumstances, perhaps it is not surprising that Obama's two state visits have been by the leaders of India and Mexico, two honest and honorable men (at least as far as I know :) ) 19. It took me much experience and personal interaction with people of many different backgrounds to really internalize the conviction and awareness that all human beings have the same potential. I have always believed in this as a matter of principle, but only with the concrete evidence that experience provides has it become part of my consciousness. So it is understandable to me that people who haven't had much experience with those from different backgrounds would have a hard time breaking out of a tribal sort of thinking...they simply have a hard time believing that people who don't come from their background would have the same values as them. 20. Is it possible that whites are feeling better about themselves, better treated by colored people, because of Obama? [Better about themselves for being able to see beyond race and elect him, better treated by colored people who now feel they too have a place in this country's top echelon]. 21. Looks like the anchor ladies are mostly blondes on Fox, brunettes on msnbc. What's the deal? 22 (6/3/2010) Happened to be watching it the exact moment when BP engineers lowered the cap on top of the riser pipe that was gushing oil at enormous pressures after being cut. I didn't watch the Apollo landings (though I did watch, in person, one of the shuttle landings with my friend Amir while at Caltech). So this was a great (albeit anxious) moment in history that I witnessed. It was science-fiction like to see the robots gingerly lowering the contraption on top of the black geyser. 23. (7/2/10) Watched "Knight & Day" tonight. Good popcorn movie. It did make me realize something. People don't like to live in a parallel universe. We all want to live in reality, a normal, peaceful life. That is why I think truth will ultimately triumph over all the misleading propaganda used by the powerful corporate and political interests to advance their interests, especially against climate change science and the Obama administration. Even the blogosphere and the 24 hour news cycle is good in a way- they give a chance for the chaff to fly, grain to settle. 24. (7/3/10) Love and relationship is about expanding one's consciousness, or the "mental space." When you are in a loving relationship you add the thoughts and emotions of your partner to your mental space. Just as we as individuals go through a process of making peace with our own thoughts and emotions, and adjusting our reactions to the happenings in everyday life, a couple goes through a process of making peace with their thoughts and emotions together. This process is easier if they are on the same wavelength. It is inevitable if you are to spend a lot of time in intimate conversation and interaction. [This reminds me of a comment made by the admirable Thad Allen who is the incident commander for the oil spill, when asked how he deals with all the criticisms - "I am careful about who rents out space in my mind"]. One also goes through such a process with society in general. Over time we absorb the thinking and emotional ways of the society we live in, as I have done with America. I have also gone through a process of making peace with American society (and specifically with my work environment at Howard University). There are days when you don't like it and days that you cherish. You just keep the big picture in mind and carry on without letting the day to day frictions drag you down. Just as there are days you don't like what arises in your mind and days that you enjoy being in your own skin.