Audacity of Sexual Equality

I was recently impressed by a little known Indian film titled Anarkali of Aarah made in the Hindi language (now available on Netflix). "Sexual Assault" and "Sexual Harassment" are the central themes of the film and the story follows the trials of a powerless woman as she seeks justice in response to a wrong done to her. Set in a small village in a backward part of north east India, in the state of Bihar, the film tells the story of a dancer who entertains a largely male audience with her sexually provocative dancing and singing, a Cabaret of sorts. A socially sanctioned activity, the dance is popular entertainment in the village, but the performers are outcasts for that very reason.

On one such occasion, an intoxicated leader of the community, to everyone's disgust and dismay, climbs on to the stage in the middle of a performance and tries to grope her. As she fights him off, the scene is recorded by the many cameras pointing at the stage. As her male colleagues ask her not to retaliate fearing reprisals, she kicks him to the ground when he tries to disrobe her, and walks away.

The next morning the drunk rises from his stupor without a memory of what happened and the coverup begins. Instead of apologizing and asking for forgiveness he goes after her with a vengeance. Threatening her, maligning her, seizing all the video recordings and finally framing her to be a prostitute and running her out of the village. With no one in her corner, she escapes to the big city, returning only later to seek revenge. Much like the many women across America who have risen up lately, some decades later, against all those men who have used their positions of power to violate them.

Early this year, when the New York Times published its extensive investigative report on the serial sexual abuse and debauchery of the Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, few envisioned it would become a lightening rod that would bring the careers of many rich, famous and powerful men to a grinding halt. Even though during the election of Donald Trump, the revelations of his vile behavior brought sexual abuse to the center of the national debate, it was the Weinstein story that caught fire. As the discussion intensified, more and more women felt empowered to reveal their experiences in lurid detail. Deviant male behavior that has always existed in the shadows, and will probably continue once things die down, came center stage.

"Men behaving badly" probably has existed since the time of the caveman. Some of that behavior, was probably driven by an uncontrollable biological urge to procreate and at other times just exerting and exercising physical power over someone weaker. Some of those instincts have not evolved even though society has tried to tame it via conventions, traditions and laws.

Driven by natural programming men have sexual fantasies and think about sex significantly more than women. Some fantasies are deviant and others delusional. The only thing that stops men from acting on them, is reality itself. But power and other forms of intoxication can blur the line between fantasy and reality. And that is when you see men behaving inappropriately as we have seen in recent disclosures from women. Especially those who have been around powerful men and accepted sexual abuse as a necessary price to pay for success in a man's world.

Women have always been subjected to some kind of unwarranted behavior in their lives from men. One would be hard pressed to find anyone who has escaped the lecher that lies dormant inside men.
From cat calling and offensive banter, to groping and rape, the spectrum of man's depravity is wide. In most cases women deal with it by either ignoring or handling it with a smile and out of fear and caution to not escalate and unleash the worst. In other cases they retaliate with courage, often facing deadly consequences as a result. Those who get physically abused, groped and raped are scarred for ever. Some internalize it and are psychologically damaged for life. Others find the strength to fight back and seek justice. But a large majority feel victimized and mask it to hold on to their careers, ambitions, sanity and social status.

Many of the stories we have heard lately, coming from the entertainment business, have all been about women feeling powerless, for their future was in the hands of someone who had complete control over their destiny. At least this is what they felt while being subjected to unspeakable violence. Some could find the strength and tact to escape, others unwillingly succumbed seeing it as an uncompromising and helpless path to success. Then there were the few who became enablers for the beast.

Society has always been defined by the unevenness that has existed between the sexes. The traditional role of women has been that of a homemaker, caregiver and nurturer. Religion and custom always set this as the primary purpose of the female gender. Then there were rules put in place by men for men to be adhered to by women to fulfill that purpose. Women are to behave, look and conduct themselves a certain way, was the central guiding principle of the rule book. The rule book was long for women and extremely short for men. When at the turn of the twentieth century women began to demand a significant rewrite of the rule book, society began to convulse. Feminism in the west started with women asking for voting rights and continues to this day asking for equal pay. In the east, while feminism existed in different forms at the grass roots and in matriarchal subcultures, the demand was similar, but in most instances it was much more basic. To be considered human was the struggle. Today in many Muslim nations and other traditional societies, and even in outwardly westernized nations like Japan, women strive to have their voices heard.

For many feminism is not about the right to be equal to men in every way. But it is about unequivocally having the same choices as men and to have the indisputable right to chart one's own destiny without constraints. For most women around the globe this is the basic challenge and the audacity of equality is a distant cry for freedom. Even if women are able to chart their own course they face a stiff current of sexism and misogyny. In some parts of the world women are routinely killed or imprisoned in unwanted marriages for exercising free will. In many other instances they are battered down and emotionally bruised beyond having an identity they can call their own. They are raped, abused, victimized and discarded in a man's world that feels threatened by their rise.

Women may not have been given the right to choose through the ages, but they certainly have been elevated and sanctified in many cultures, probably with the goal to protect them from predators. For they were the birthers of life and life is sacrosanct, and should be protected for self preservation of the tribe visa vie the race. In India, women still struggle to find some semblance of equality in social life and don't feel safe in many parts of the country after dark, but in mythology and popular culture they are elevated to the status of goddesses and immortalized as mother figures in movies and popular culture. In the west, respect given to women by taking your hat off and treating them like a "lady" with delicate and appropriate respect, was something that was always taught and projected. The code for modern intermingling of the sexes based on free will, was written in the west which is still emulated around the world. This notion that true love can only be achieved through mutual respect, was ingrained through movies, books and is still peddled as the ideal. But reality does not reflect the ideal. Domestic abuse and sexual assault is rampant in the west. While women are asked to be nurtured, they still do not have rights to their own body. Abortion is still an anathema in a man's world.

But for those women who chose to live life on their own terms, the path is fraught with danger, unless supported and accepted by men.

One cannot ignore the fact that at our core, humans are sexual beings. And sexuality plays a big part in the way we perceive the world. Mindful of this, the popular culture is in a constant state of frenzy, feeding off of and feeding people's insatiable sexual desires. In large part the entertainment business, from Hollywood to Bollywood to the porn industry, feeds this beast with titillating fantasies and subliminally programming standards of what "sexy" and "beautiful" is and should be. In a world where explicit sexual material is just a mouse click away, to teach the younger generation the etiquette of social and sexual behavior is proving to be challenging to any parent. This could be a place where the early seeds of deviant behavior are planted as young people try to navigate the hormonal chaos that grips their brains.

In the recent scandals that have erupted in America, descriptions of men's alleged and some acknowledged behavior have been harrowing. From men openly masturbating in front of women, to taking showers and parading naked unannounced in front of young assistants, giving dildos as gifts, to openly soliciting sex for reward and groping and raping, appalling behavior was on full display. This behavior always existed in the shadows among "respectable" powerful men and was buried with threats and financial settlements as we have seen in the case of executives at Fox News. There is also no doubt that a large percentage of men would not engage in such behavior, some out of fear and others out of just good upbringing. Also there are many out there, who will lose their guard with little or no provocation as well.

In an over-sexualized world of today, that celebrates the libido of youth to the hilt, the signal to noise ratio is very high and confusing. To be promiscuous is considered a badge of honor. Sex is natural, sex is fun, sex is "no big deal", is the motto to live by. And it cuts across genders causing upheaval and leading to unsavory behavior, as we have noticed lately. The sexual abuse recently brought to the surface has run across all age groups, from the oldest to the youngest as reported in the recent investigations carried out at the well known media establishment VICE entertainment.

The Weinstein ripple effect shattered the careers of many extremely talented people in an instant. Some with good cause and others with little. It launched a witch hunt accusing men of abhorrent behavior and they paid with their long careers terminated without an investigation, trial or jury. The prevailing wave of public opinion seemed to deem and conflate all inappropriate behavior the same and served out one punishment to fit all. While on one side it is commendable to put the images of abused women on the cover of Time Magazine, and celebrate the victim's courage, the current debate also sends a signal that there is no place for reformation, perspective, penance and second chances. The age old question of, does a Picasso lose its luster when the world acknowledges that he was a serial abuser of women, remains as ambivalent as ever.

At the end of the film Anarkali of Aarah, the protagonist gets her revenge by publicly shaming the man who abused her so publicly, by releasing the one video recording of the incident she manages to get hold of. Then she approaches her abuser and says "I maybe your wife, a whore, or a dancer for your pleasure. But before you touch a woman, you need to ask" and walks away. As a father of two daughters, it is my hope that they are asked before they are touched, and the men who get permission are a product of good upbringing.

It is what it is.

They poisoned my friends for Ivanka

I was born in an alleyway under a hot Indian sun. My mother left me young, and ever since I have roamed the streets of Hyderabad and scavenged to stay alive. In the nights, I sleep under streetlights. When it rains I take shelter in open garages behind cardboard boxes. I live free and easy, but get kicked and beaten, shooed and shouted at often. As a stray dog I am a public nuisance, but I have some rights. I can be captured and neutered, but cannot be killed.

I am not alone. I have a posse of friends who roam with me. I also have human colleagues who live like me, begging at traffic lights and temples for a cup of tea and a slice.

Two days ago my human counterparts were rounded up and asked to stay out of sight. About the same time, some in my posse went missing. There were rumors that many were vanishing across the city. There was fear spreading. Then I saw the streets being spruced up, trash being cleared and potholes repaired. Men in uniform were in places I had never seen before. And then I saw a friend in a garbage dump discarded like rotten meat. Someone said we were being poisoned around the city because Ivanka Trump would be visiting soon. The local government decided the image of beggars and stray dogs is too harsh for her soft eyes, so we have to be made invisible so her visit can be as painless as possible.

Unlike myself, Ivanka Trump was born into luxury. Daughter of a real estate bigwig, she had only seen gilded ceilings and gold everywhere she turned. At a young age she began walking the catwalks and joined the glitterati of Manhattan. Later she was absorbed into her father's real estate business and sat next to him on TV as he fired people on his make believe reality show. With all that money she launched her own line of fashion items for the rich, which included clothes, handbags, shoes, and accessories. She then married another real estate bigwig named Jared Kushner, converted to Judaism and became a mother of three children. Ivanka Trump became the elite among elites, and carefully manicured her image with good looks and championing some worthy causes adding the word "philanthropist" to her vitae.

So why is this princess coming to my city I wondered. Is it to taste the world famous Biryani? Well, when her father became president, she being the favorite of his five children, was automatically bound for the White House. Being a woman, the hope was that she would soften the brash and boorish man that had become president with good looks and charm. She would be the voice of reason and champion causes that would maybe bring some of his detractors, mainly women, into the tent. But that hope died fast for many.

So her father gave her and her husband a close seat at the table. People cried nepotism, but that did not shake the steadfast president. Since he could not give them official positions, he made them both "Advisors to the President". Which basically means, if you want favors from the President of the United States of America visa vie the government, all you have to do is get on the good side of Ivanka or Jared and maybe they will put in a word for you and your agenda.

And so when my Prime Minister visited the United States, he invited Ivanka Trump to co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit and it is said she obliged with delight as it would be her first official high level outing. She saw this as an opportunity to highlight women entrepreneurs, as she considered herself to be one. And also take a trip to a part of the world she claimed she had visited only once before. Many took this opportunity to point out that many of the products sold on her fashion website were probably manufactured in this part of the world and not America, which is where her father would have liked them to be. At least this is what he keeps bellowing in his speeches "America First"!! Make America Great Again !!

And so Ivanka Trump landed in my city with no significant official title, other than that of an "advisor" and was treated like royalty. My Prime Minister breaking all protocol, welcomed her like a head of state. Her 350-member delegation is hosted at the taxpayers' expense. Photo-ops with the Prime Minister are all over the media as men in white bow and shake hands with this Trump princess.

With her $3500 dress she turned on her charm offensive and gave a speech to loud applause. Incorporating pseudo feminism in her talk, to fit the theme of the summit "Women First, Prosperity for all" she charmed everyone with her propensity to form complete sentences and coherent ideas, which her father so severely lacks. My Prime Minister then went on his usual rant, quoting from Hindu mythology and touting his wonderful achievements in order of preference. Unlike her father, Princess Trump did not offend anyone with her remarks and everyone was swooned by the Ivanka glow and it was palpable even on TV.

Then the roads were all cleared for her motorcade to pass through a city which is fraught with traffic on a daily basis. Making it worse for the denizens of Hyderabad she breezed through streets with no beggars or us stray dogs in sight. Falaknuma Palace, the palace of the Nizam, was on lock down to wine and dine her. My city for all practical purposes was shut down for just an advisor to the president of America.

As I mourn the death of my compatriots, I am aware that in a land where the price of humans is cheap, I cannot expect much for "man's best friend". I am always aware that being allowed to live is a daily miracle. While the coming of Ivanka put a dent in my population, she left a much bigger dent on my states' coffers. It is what it is.

Toxic India

Unseasonal rains were wreaking havoc down below as my plane descended into Hyderabad, India. As I exited the airport, the heat and humidity for October was insufferable. For a moment I thought I had landed in the wrong city. I had grown up here and had never felt this way, especially in the month of October when the heat normally leaves and the cool air settles in. As I got into my taxi and made my way home, my driver was relaying how difficult commuting had become as cloudbursts would flood city streets with little notice, making them impassable. As we got off the overpass, and joined the river of choking traffic, what he was saying became apparent. The roads were in atrocious condition as a result of incessant rain, and as the traffic crawled, the plight of urban living in India was on full display. In a place where rain is normally a blessing as it cleanses the air and brings relief to parched land, people were praying for it to go away.

As I arrived home to be greeted by my parents who I had not seen for over an year, the discussion quickly turned to the rains. Our fifty year old house standing on three foot wide limestone walls was soaking in water from the wet onslaught. Next morning I visited my neighbor who was disinfecting her home after a foot of water mixed with sewage and storm run off had inundated every room. Was this climate change showing itself or just an anomaly, one could not tell. But my neighbor was exhausted complaining that this was the fourth time she had had her home flooded this month and she was at her wit’s end.

October is festival month in India. Dushera and Diwali are the two major Hindu festivals that are celebrated with much pomp and flare in much of the country. Being home for Diwali is always special. As a child I would look forward to this festival all year as you would get new clothes, and the house would come alive with oil lamps, marigolds, colorful floor patterns, mango leaves and the aromas of delicious home cooked savories. But what would excite me most, was the burning of firecrackers, which was the highlight for any child. Some sparklers, flowerpots, loud bombs and red cracker garlands and an assorted cornucopia of toxic smoke releasing delights would do the trick. I even suffered third degree burns on my thumb as a ten year old, but that did not deter my passion for this activity around this time.

Fireworks were never cheap, and in some ways letting them off in a poor nation was tantamount to burning currency. I began to come to this realization later in my youth as the act of burning fireworks during Diwali seemed to be getting a little out of hand. With India's economic boom came a rise in disposable income. And Diwali soon became a time to show of your status by burning more fireworks than needed. This time around it seemed like things had reached a tipping point. Last year New Delhi had to be shut down for three days after Diwali, as the air had become so toxic that it was considered unsafe for children to go to school.

So this year the Indian Supreme Court banned fireworks in New Delhi in an attempt to avoid the dire conditions that had brought the city to a halt last year. New Delhi's air is already ranked one of the worst in the world and they hoped this would make a difference. While many were supportive of this action, there were others who saw this as an attack on their Hindu pride and their ability to exercise their religious freedom. There were ministers and intellectuals on the right who were opposing the ban vehemently with absurd logic. Neighboring states were inviting the Delhi residents to come over to their land to exercise their birth right of burning fireworks to their heart's content. On Diwali day, the ban had little effect. It was barely enforced and New Delhi was engulfed in a smog of toxic air.

Down in Hyderabad, my house was invaded by smoke as my neighbors exercised their right to burn fireworks for probably our whole neighborhood. From my terrace I could see the sulfur rise like a ghostly cloud obscuring the view of the grand marble temple on the hill. And the next day I had the worst headache I can remember that lasted the whole day, which I could only attribute to the air that surrounded me. While being home for Diwali was joyous, somethings in my city had steadily and irrevocably changed. I had little hope that things would reset even though many in the media were shouting hoarse about the deteriorating state of affairs.

Just about then the Lancet Study made headlines. India accounted for about 28 per cent of an estimated 9 million pollution-linked deaths worldwide in 2015. It also topped the list of deaths linked to polluted air (1.81 million) and water (0.64 million). Most of the pollution-related deaths were reported in low and middle income countries, and in rapidly industrializing nations such as India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Madagascar and Kenya. Most of these deaths were due to non-communicable diseases caused by pollution, such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

While stuck in a perilous traffic jam in my non-air conditioned minuscule Maruti 800 (a tin can of a car from the 1980s), I saw large Jaguars, Mercedes Benzes and BMWs pass by. Then there were buses packed with passengers exploding out in steaming humid air. Families on two-wheelers with helmets and handkerchiefs on their faces, clamored to get ahead. Three-wheelers, called Auto-rickshaws, tried to squeeze through, all while the traffic crawled in a state of utter chaos and frenzy as people honked their horns with the hope that some noise would have an impact. Having grown up here I was used to this daily din as people trudged to their destinations like this, with little or no choice. But I had not seen it this bad before and as more and more cars entered the streets, the clamor was predicted to only get worse. As a solution the city had initiated the construction of an overhead metro system with the hope of relieving some of the congestion below. With ten years and counting, the delayed project was not only causing the traffic mayhem, but the prospect of it addressing this urban calamity seemed suspect.

I was in India this time, also to screen a film I was part of, titled Holy (un)Holy River. The film tells the story of the mighty Ganges and its current predicament. Highlighting the over damming of the water and the industrial and religious pollution the river faces on a daily basis, the film makes the argument that this holiest of holy rivers, can one day cease to exist if things continue the way they have been for the last fifty years. The river has reached its limit and by all scientific measure is a polluted waterway. By shining a light on the state of affairs the film reveals the urgency that is at hand, and calls for urgent action or suffer the consequences of a physical sacred river becoming a mythological one, much like its counterpart, Saraswati. During a question and answer session after a screening in Bangalore, an audience member said the film shows all that is wrong with the river, but offers no solutions? To which I answered, as a filmmaker my job is to shine a light. Solutions have always been there and there are many proposed that people in power are aware of. But I am beginning to become pessimistic as I see little or no action at the governmental level. The problem is now beyond individual action that placates one’s conscience.

While India is turning toxic due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, this scenario is not unique to this nation alone. It is only more "in your face" here. The west polluted itself, got rich in the process and then cleaned itself up to a large extent. Poor nations like India do not have that luxury or the time. Rich nations like America still continue to pollute the environment with emissions and excessive use of chemicals. The current administration in America has chosen a path of regression. By pulling out of the Paris accord and succumbing to lobbyists and reversing all the progress made by the previous administration, they are assuring that big chemical companies like Dow Chemicals continue to profit by putting American lives at risk.

While there is great pristine beauty left on this planet, there is little doubt that humanity by its very existence is turning it toxic. While living in urban India is injurious to health, one only has to travel a few miles outside the ever-expanding city limits to touch and feel what fresh air tastes like. But even there on close observation one will find human toxicity in the form of pesticides and other pollutants that are used to grow food to feed the teeming masses.

So where do we go from here? The climate is changing, humans are set in their ways, and governments are in a state of denial and in the business of creating growth and jobs to win elections. And still we are asked to be optimistic and have faith in technology, and that there will be "big solutions" to these gigantic existential problems. But do we really have the time?

James Baldwin, the great author, thinker and conscience of his time was once asked, if he felt optimistic about the plight of his people (with regards to racism and segregation) in America. He responded, "I am alive, therefore I have to be optimistic".

It is what it is.

Freedom to Speak

"Make America Great Again" was the slogan/war-cry Donald Trump effectively bellowed to rise to power. On a recent broadcast of the talk show "Real Time with Bill Mahar", the well known author Salman Rushdie posed a poignant question in response to that slogan. He asked, "When was that period in time when America was truly Great?. Was it during the time of slavery, segregation, the Vietnam War... it will be good to know when was America really great?" to which Bill Mahar responded and I paraphrase "1945, when we liberated Europe from the clutches of fascism".

There is little doubt in anyone's mind that the American blood spilled to rid the world of fascism was an enormous sacrifice. The American soldiers and their allies were truly exceptional and selfless in their fight against evil and prevailed due to their perseverance and courage. But then again, it was that very war that led to the creation of the Atomic Bomb which was then dropped on innocent civilians in Japan, bringing the whole horrific ordeal to a sordid end. But that war of all wars did not stop America's long tradition of spilling blood. There have been very few days since the end of that war, when this nation's soldiers have rested in their barracks while their leaders contemplated the next one.

But there is one thing, that makes America truly great. It is the First Amendment to the constitution that gives every citizen the freedom to speak his/her mind, without fear of persecution. It is this very freedom that allowed Donald Trump to spew divisive lies and hatred and rise to the highest echelons of power. It is this very freedom that allowed social media and the internet to spawn "fake news" and sway public opinion like never before. And it is this freedom that allows one to dissent and critique America, in an act of love for country. And it is this freedom that allows me to express my opinion here on this screen, without fear of reprisals or threat from anyone known or unknown. And I am keenly aware that this is a luxury I am granted as a citizen of this nation. There are many around the world who are dead or are in prison for having expressed their mind. This very fact does not go unacknowledged lightly and it is one of the few reasons I chose to live here in this "great nation".   

This week Donald Trump questioned this cherished right by casting aspersions on some athletes who chose to dissent on the field, knowing they were being watched by millions, only to draw attention to some injustices that persist in this nation, despite great progress. By kneeling instead of standing while the national anthem played, they wanted to send a message about how they felt about this moment in time in America. To which the president responded in his usual brash and vulgar language, that they should be fired for being "unpatriotic". Another said they should protest on their own time and off the field. Others drew attention to the NFL rule book which elaborately explains a player's conduct during this ceremony and anyone who is in violation does not deserve to hold their position and so on and so forth. This discussion in response to another of Donald Trump's un-presidential behavior,  began to dominate the media sphere while other matters of greater importance were brushed aside.

Since when did the workplace become a space where one could not express one's opinion if one was doing it peacefully and without disruption? Through out history people have protested at their workplace by tying a black or red arm band expressing their displeasure. Athletes have raised their clenched fist on the medal stand to protest discrimination. The "greatest" of them all, Muhammad Ali threw away his Olympic gold medal in the river and defied the military draft to express his disgust of the America he was living in. These actions brought about steady but incremental change to a point where all people can demand their right to be treated with respect, dignity, justice and decency. It seems like those who disparage others for using free speech by exercising their own right to free speech, either do not know their history or have blatantly chosen to ignore it.

Free speech is absolute. There are no gradations to free speech. Anyone who expresses his/her views through words or non-violent action, can only be retorted by words and non-violence. Anyone who chooses violence to counter free speech is weak and impotent.

Salman Rushdie, probably is the only living intellectual, who was persecuted relentlessly for his words, when he published "The Satanic Verses" in 1989. For many writers and journalists he became a poster-child for free speech. His first condemnation began inside the largest democracy of the world, when India decided to ban his book on behest of a member of parliament's opinion that it would offend Muslims. Who at that time were a large voting block for the ruling government, and their appeasement was seen as vital to their re-election. Without much introspection, debate or for that mater reading of the book, he was accused of "blasphemy". This action caught wind and within a short period a death sentence for Salman Rushdie was proclaimed by a despot in Iran. The "Fatwa" made it incumbent upon every well meaning Muslim anywhere on the planet, to murder the author, to reclaim the religion from insult and denigration,

Salman Rushdie was not the first public intellectual to be persecuted for his/her ideas, but his predicament became a seminal moment which cast a chilling effect, whose impact is felt even today. When asked recently whether he would have considered writing the book in the present time, Salman Rushdie acknowledged, he would doubt it.

Freedom of speech in many societies around the world is under threat. Not just in dictatorships but in most democracies, voices are being thwarted by either authoritative governments or by a rise of populism, nationalism and fascism. According to the CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists) 24 journalists have been killed in 2017 around the world. On September 5th, a well known journalist, Gauri Shankar was assassinated in her house in Bangalore, India. Her death brought a vile polarized discourse to the surface which had been brewing in India for a while. Some openly felt "she had it coming" for her leftist/communist writings and investigations of the present establishment and its overlords. The shocking silence from some intellectual circles and the lack of outrage was a reflection of the state of affairs in a democracy that is faltering. In Bangladesh and Pakistan bloggers have been hacked to death or have been beaten into silence. In Russia anyone who speaks out against Vladimir Putin and his oligarchy is in the cross hairs of the security apparatus and other shadowy groups. In China the internet is severely censored and dissidents imprisoned with impunity. In Philippines, journalists critical of the government have come under attack and some have been murdered. In Egypt many languish in prison with no end in sight.

In America, the pendulum has swung in many directions. While journalists don't feel threatened for their lives yet, they have been demeaned, vilified and branded biased by the establishment. But unlike other nations, the media establishment in America is still strong, powerful, relentless and influential. When the mainstream media falters, which has been too often for comfort, satirists, comedians, talk-show hosts and in some instances Hollywood pick up the slack. But their reach has steadily waned since the advent of Twitter, Facebook and the like. By condemning the media that do not do his bidding and applauding, Donald Trump has launched a smoke and mirror dance that emboldens his base and divides the public like never before. This might serve him well if there is any criminality that is unearthed by the many ongoing investigations of him, his associates and his family. He can always dismiss it as liberal bias or a media take down of his presidency. But he refuses to take any concrete action against the real "fake news" that has proliferated the internet like a cancer, devouring the foundations of democracy, not just here in America, but around the globe.

People globally have become purveyors on social media and therefore have become prisoners of their echo chambers. A society that measures its worth by the number of "likes", "hits" and "dislikes" is down a slippery slope and its consequences are just being felt on the margins. While free speech is the oxygen that cannot be constricted, the internet has spawned a platform, where that oxygen can quickly turn to poison. Racism, bigotry, religious fanaticism and all the awful qualities human tribalism spawns, surface in the name of free speech. On the internet there is ample room for people to vomit and not get noticed, or explode for a short while and then burn out like a falling meteor.

Silicon Valley the bastion of liberalism created the internet to spread democracy and free speech without boundaries. They created a true egalitarian space in virtual reality, for people to feel empowered no matter who they are and where they live. In the process Google, Facebook and others have become more powerful than long established media companies and governments who were the traditional gatekeepers of opinion. By providing a platform for people to express their impressions of the world as they see it, they opened the door to lies, deceit and fabrication. In the recent investigations of the hijacking and hacking of the American election, it is becoming clear the role Silicon Valley may have inadvertently played in the election of Donald Trump. What we are seeing is that an unregulated internet can be a dangerous force, but to regulate it means going against the very essence of its creation. There in lies the dilemma in taming the insatiable beast.

Patriotism in most instances around the world, is defined and symbolized by flag draping, standing up for the anthem and pledge, supporting the troops and cheering your nation's sports teams or in the case of America, your favorite NFL or NBA team as air-force jets fly by in formation. In today's climate more than ever, if you criticize your government and its leaders, find fault in the justice system, speak out against war, racism, bigotry and religious fervor or expose the double standards and corruption openly practiced by politicians and CEOs, you are branded anti-national and or unpatriotic. If draping yourself or your profile picture on Facebook in a flag was all you had to do to be counted as a loyal citizen, then we might as well flush the idea of democracy and relegate ourselves to being a brainwashed society drugged by consumerism and mass consumption.

James Baldwin once said, "I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually". Probably the most patriotic thing to say and do, in an imperfect and flawed world.

This week US Attorney General Jeff Sessions gave a speech at Georgetown University's Law School. The topic was free speech on college campuses. He defended the president's right to free speech for expressing his views on kneeling athletes and also commented on how college campuses around America were stifling free speech by shouting down speakers like Milo Yiannaopoulos and Charles Murray, they did not agree with. Then he went on to offer advise to the young students, some of who were protesting his presence with black tape on their mouths and kneeling. He said "As you exercise these rights, realize how precious, how rare and how fragile they are. In most societies throughout history" he added "openly criticizing the government or expressing unorthodox opinions could land you in jail or worse". From a cursory read it was unclear whether these ominous words were meant to be a cautionary tale or a foreshadowing of whats to come.

It is what it is

Winter is Coming!

The globally popular television show "Game of Thrones", is a sordid and violent tale of palace intrigue, revenge and brutal power struggle between kingdoms, kings, queens and their associates.
"Winter is coming" is an ominous phrase often used in the show, foreshadowing a dooms day coming. The phrase has become common usage among fans of the show, to signify something sinister to come, mostly in good humor.

For those who may have not seen the series, here is a primer. The lush television mega production is based on the vividly imagined fantastic tales by R.R.Martin in a series of books titled "A Song of Fire and Ice". Loosely borrowed from European fiefdoms of medieval times, R.R. Martin concocted a rich and layered fantasy universe filled with ornate palaces, lavish landscapes, flying banners, warring horseback armies, magic, dragons and zombies. The central thread runs around a power struggle between royal families, vying to claim their rightful place on the "Iron Throne", which would allow them to rule over the seven kingdoms which constitutes the whole universe of the story. While the kings and queens war, plot, deceive, murder and squabble among each other, to the north there is an army of the dead that is amassing which is all powerful and dominating and threatens to render all that is living obsolete. The series that just completed its seventh season, has been building to a moment, when the army of the dead would arrive at the giant ice wall, the only obstacle standing between the living and the dead.

So the wise John Snow, one of the main characters, tries to convince the warring kingdoms, that it is pointless fighting among each other as the real threat does not care who sits on the Iron Throne. If they do not put their differences aside and face the real enemy, life as they know it would cease to exist. And so he convenes a meeting of all parties and presents evidence that the army of the dead is real, by capturing one of the zombies. While he manages to convince that the threat is real, not all agree to cooperate. One of the factions chooses to find an island and seclude themselves from the danger and another sees an opportunity in the face of impending catastrophe. The final episode of the season ends with the army of the dead breaching the ice wall as winter begins to descend.

As we watch the fourth largest city in America, succumb to trillions of gallons of water unleashed upon it by a hurricane, and scientists and weather forecasters call it a "once in a 500 year flood" one wonders if this is just a freak of nature or is this a new normal. Is "the winter", climatologists have been predicting as the planet warms is already here.

Houston and its surrounding counties have seen their fair share of floods through the years. Partly because of their geographical location in the gulf of Mexico. In 1994 Montgomery county received 20 to 30 inches of rain and was inundated. This time this suburb of Houston received over 50 inches in a couple of days. A survivor of that 1994 deluge, responded to New York Times about this present calamity saying "this is the most catastrophic thing I've seen in my life".

Scientists have predicted for sometime now, that warming oceans can create intense storms which can pack immense amount of moisture and deliver it to land with devastating fury. One of the most significant and telling effects of global warming are abnormal weather patterns that can wreak havoc on population centers that are ill prepared to handle the increasing scale of the impact. While Huston was flooding and the media was focused on Hurricane Harvey, a third of Bangladesh was under water and Nepal, Mumbai and Karachi were dealing with unseasonal cloudbursts leading to hundreds of deaths. Approximately 16 million people in the region were estimated to have been affected by the floods.

Since the industrial revolution, nations have heated the planet by burning coal and other fossil fuels without refrain. Deforestation and other forms of pollution have rendered vast stretches of the planet lifeless. When science began to conclude with strong evidence the impact human activity was having on the globe, the first response was to doubt it. The worst polluting western nations did not want to stifle their economic growth and the developing nations felt it was their turn to pollute as they had to catch up to the west. After much squabbling over decades like the warring families of "Game of Thrones", 198 nations agreed to the non-binding Paris Climate Accord, acknowledging at least in principle, like the "army of the dead", climate change was real and an existential threat to all things living.

In all their wisdom, respecting the knowledge of almost 99% of the scientists of the world, in 2015, leaders signed onto the Paris Climate Accord. Nations agreed to take action to mitigate rising temperatures by enacting sensible regulations in their native countries. Then in 2017, Donald Trump ascended to the office of the American presidency and decided to go against the accord wowing to pull out. His decision was largely governed by his distrust of the scientific data and belief in climate change deniers. He often called climate change a "hoax" during his campaign rallies. The reason he gave though, was that he thought enacting any policies to curtail global warming would come at a great cost to the American economy and its workers.

As Texans clean up after the storm, an estimated 300,000 people have been directly affected by the storm. Many have lost homes and probably their livelihoods as a result. Petrochemical factories, that employ a large number in the area have been flooded and will take weeks if not months to reopen. As people rebuild, many employers will have to let go of people, not knowing when they would return. The economic impact of such a storm will be hard to gauge and will take its toll for years to come. Donald Trump's lopsided economic theory that acting on climate change might stifle economic growth and cost American jobs, is proven wrong with this catastrophic example. Whether it will be acknowledged, is another matter.

Climate change deniers defy logic. As they propose, if actually the climate is not changing as a result of human activity but is only going through a natural cycle, and that cycle will return back to its normal state in the future, then great, we will all be saved. But if that is not the case, and if humans are in fact contributing to an accelerated change in climate and rising ocean temperatures, then does it not make sense to stop being selfish and opportunistic and actively do something about it?

Climate change is a real security threat. Many sensible governments around the world and the US Military have adopted a serious posture in preparing for it. Just like the army of the dead in "Game of Thrones", it is real and it is not selective and it does not see borders. If the human race as a whole does not join hands in stemming its onslaught, life as we know it will cease to exist in the very near future. Hurricane Harvey is again sounding the alarm. It is for us to decide whether we want to unite or perish. It is what it is.

Molotov Cocktail

When Donald Trump was elected I proclaimed it was probably the most unpatriotic act some Americans had committed. They picked the most unworthy and unqualified person to lead the country just because they were tired of establishment politics and politicians. Some of my friends thought my statement was extreme. They said many of his supporters were decent hard working people who thought America was only working for the elites and they saw in Donald Trump a rejection of all that was wrong with Washington. His bellicose brash behavior seemed appealing to a large section of America, as they thought it was at least honest and held a promise of returning America to a time when it was more monochromatic.

And so they took an anarchic self serving approach with a hope that a shake up of the system will yield better results in their favor. Others just hoped that his presidency would lead to a kind of politics that would bring the country back to the "right", as the previous administration had flung it too far to the left. And so they launched a molotov-cocktail at Washington.

In the six months Donald Trump has been president it seems the molotov-cocktail is doing its job, causing unprecedented chaos and dysfunction. And the people hurting most are his supporters and they refuse to see it. Anyone who says they could not see this coming, was either living in a world not anchored in reality or had given up on all rational thought and behavior in a moment a drunken stupor fueled by a compromised media establishment.

To elaborate on the dysfunction and utter jaw dropping behavior that has ensued since Donald Trump entered the White House would be an exercise in futility. His relentless dismantling of everything and anything civil, that the American presidency ever stood for, is there for all to see in every moment of every waking hour. His addiction to Twitter has revealed a disturbing side of a man, exposing a complete lack of intellect and any penchant for analytical thought you might come to expect from a person wielding such power.

Donald Trump is not the first person to have risen to power with such an utter lack of experience or personality. But those sensible who have risen to power have acknowledged their weaknesses and surrounded themselves with smart people to help them lead the way. Donald Trump has failed even in this arena. He has surrounded himself with probably the most inept and ideologically driven personalities whose loyalty is the only thing he values. He has surrounded himself with some generals as well to come across as powerful and decisive. Or maybe to make up for the machismo that he lacks but would like to be known for. Or probably to instill in him a kind of discipline which he internally lacks, and thinks maybe the American public would feel safer knowing people of authority were in his corner.

The six months of turmoil that has dogged the white house has led to a situation which seems to be spiraling out of control, both domestically and internationally. On the domestic side the debacle known as the "repeal and replacement" of the Affordable Care Health Act or Obamacare has spawned extreme uncertainty in the healthcare system both on the consumer and provider side. With Donald Trump's hurt ego determined on jeopardizing the healthcare of millions of Americans things seem more dire than they should be. His total disregard for the environment and complete apathy towards issues of climate change, is probably the most disturbing trait of a sitting president of a developed nation in this day and age.

In the shadow of this relentless dysfunction, Russia, China and North Korea are flexing their muscle and  challenging American power as they see a vacuum developing. America's allies do not know what to make of the American president and his shenanigans, and are taking less and less of their security for granted. Their faith in America's post war commitment to their security is fast eroding. On the long term probably leading to an arms race and nuclear proliferation. The instability of the American presidency is re-shaping the geopolitics of the planet in a seismic way.

But there is a silver lining to all of this. The president's brash behavior seems to be reaching its limit of tolerance, as the Senate and Congress recently showed, that in the American system of government, power rests equally between the Executive and Legislative branches. They need each other to make sensible legislation to take shape. By defeating the poorly drafted and rushed health care reform bill, imposing further economic sanctions on Russia, endorsing President Obama's Iran deal, and agreeing to bolster the current health care system while the president openly seeks to dismantle it, the legislators have finally shown some spine. Some have openly come out and made bold statements that they work for the American people and are not willing to do the bidding of the president if they think it is not constructive. Probably more out of fear of a public rejection in the upcoming midterm election than a love of country.

While Donald Trump continues his unhinged journey as the president of America, there is a lot more to come. Those who look for stability and a certain decorum in this leader, will only find things deteriorating. There is no reason for anyone to be surprised anymore about the next shocking thing Donald Trump will say on Twitter or the next sensible legislation he will threaten to repeal or destroy to feed his ego and meet some outrageous campaign promise. Paying attention to Donald Trump's every word and action is what feeds the media and comes across as a witch hunt to his supporters. Which he effectively exploits to keep his head held high within his base. His supporters still feel he is not being given a fair chance to succeed.

While it is important to not take one's "eye of the ball", it is also important to be measured and pointed in his criticism, or America could become a victim of another molotov-cocktail attack in 2020.

It is what it is.

Path to Ruin

On that grisly morning when the Twin Towers fell, a monument was torn down. A monument that took almost five years to build and stood for three decades was brought down by the sheer force of an appetite for destruction. This moment would leave a deep scar on not only Americans but all those who saw it "live" on television across the globe. But what no one saw coming, was it would not be the last monument to fall.

In the past I have written about the shock and deep sorrow I have felt, witnessing ancient monuments being blown to smithereens, by madness spawned by war. In war there is no pause for beauty. All that rises, is an insatiable appetite for total and complete destruction of all that the human spirit creates in the name of beauty.

So this month when I read about the destruction of the Al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul, that same feeling of despair returned. A mosque in all its exquisite beauty and human expression had stood for 800 years calling people to prayer and community, was now but a cloud of dust. According to reports it was leveled up by Islamic State (IS) militants as they retreated Mosul, relinquishing their grip on a city that had been reduced to rubble. Iraq's second largest city now stands in total ruin and the destruction of the mosque was the final flourish. A gash left behind on many, which would probably never heal.

The Islamic State and its members have always had a problem with any expression of beauty. The kind of Caliphate they proposed to build seemed to be based on total fear and domination, devoid of any human spirit. They often quoted the Quran to justify their means and call others to join their ranks. In their demented frenzy as they went about destroying mosques, ancient antiquities in  museums and then the famous Roman ruins in the city of Palmyra, which had stood the test of time for two thousand years, it was not clear what their true motivations were, other than that they found non-Islamic idolatry offensive. By drawing the Shia Sunni line, they justified blowing up Shia mosques. But most of all they craved for international attention by these acts, much like they did with the public beheadings they posted on youtube. To shock was their modus-operandi and for the most part they achieved their psychotic goals.

Not far from Syria in 2001, the Taliban attached dynamite to the imposing 5th century Buddha statues of Bamiyan and reduced them to rubble in a flash. Watching its destruction on video was akin to experiencing the towers fall in my backyard. No matter the deranged ideology that may have led to this unpardonable act, it seems to be a symptom of our times, at least in the war torn regions of the world.

There is nothing unusual or uncommon about monuments being destroyed in war. When the British and Americans carpet bombed Dresden, Germany in 1945, they reduced one of the most exquisite cities in the world to ruin. Known as the "Jewel Box" for its exquisite Baroque and Rococo architecture, the city had stood since the 12th century and was reduced to dust within a matter of days.

On the night of March 9th, 1945, the United States Airforce conducted what is know as "the single most destructive bombing raid in human history". Known as Operation Meetinghouse, 16 square miles of central Tokyo were charred to the ground by relentless B-29 bombing raids. The ancient exquisite city of Tokyo was reduced to ashes.

Since the ignition of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, by the United States, a generation has grown up only knowing war and destruction. The "war on terror" launched by President George Bush is still ongoing and its repercussions have thrown a large swath of the Middle East into chaos, leading to mass murder and a mammoth refugee crisis not seen since the last great war. Today Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Afghanistan are on the verge collapse and the American involvement has not ended. Instead of taking responsibility, America is trying to extricate itself by issuing travel bans on people trying to flee the chaos and by pursuing policies that exacerbate matters rather than heal. The current belligerent administration, continues to push policies of confrontation and disengagement rather than coalition building. There is no question the world is a complicated place where global powers lock horns with economic interests and strategic alliances in mind. While we want to hold corrupt regimes accountable for war crimes and human rights violations, the onus has to be greater on super powers to walk the walk just to maintain integrity on the world stage. One thing that has been lost in the fog of war, is any semblance of virtue.

The human appetite to create beauty is limitless but it is always countered in equal measure by its appetite for destruction. What we are beginning to see now, is that the very existence of the human race is proving to be toxic. Human consumerism is devouring everything in its path and is pushing the planet at the brink. As coral reefs bleach by rising ocean temperatures and pollution and the oceans become repositories of plastic, one need not look far to see the impact the human race is having on the one place we call home. The beauty that we create from our imagination, and then destroy by our madness can be restored to a certain extent by peace, much like Dresden was. But the beauty of nature once tarnished by human negligence can never be reclaimed. The recognition of this and only this can save us from the path to ruin.

It is what it is.

Plight of our Times

While contemplating what to write about, yet again terrorist attacks claimed lives of children in Manchester, Kabul and Baghdad. Yemen was on the brink of complete collapse and America upheld its stature as the world's biggest arms dealer by signing a multi-billion dollar deal with Saudi Arabia. Peace in Syria was elusive as ever as the world continued to grapple with the idea of Donald Trump as he dismantles the world order and stifles any hope of a better future for our planet.

Then someone dear to me shared this quote from the book Fourth Uncle in the Mountain - The Remarkable Legacy of a Buddhist Itinerant Doctor in Vietnam which perfectly summed up the plight of our times, and took my breath away.

"In the realm of people, Good and Evil tumble in and out and through each other, 
and so weave the stories of nations. 
Many believe the Good will always overpower Evil, 

but I know that Evil has a marked advantage. 

Evil, according to its nature, stalks the earth like a hungry ghost and preys on us when we have lost heart, while Good sails up to heave without leaving much of a trace at all. 

And so there are those among us who must consciously draw the Good back down to earth, where it may take root and grow strong in our hearts and minds, strong enough to subdue Evil."

It is what it is.

Death Sanctioned

There is something sadistic and perverted about strapping someone to a gurney and injecting them with fluid and watch them descend into death. I always wondered what goes through the minds of those who are invited to view this ghastly ritual, let alone the person sinking. What solace does it bring to those who have lost loved ones to witness the death of the person who brought them misery? What gratification can be drawn from viewing the controlled death of another human being no matter how soulless that individual may have been? People say it brings closure, but at what cost and what purpose? Can the death of another person seared into one's memory ease the pain? I personally have not experienced the murder or rape of a loved one to walk in the shoes of those who have. But I cannot fathom being a spectator to the death of another, to quench my thirst for justice or seek closure. 
 
Sanctioned death as a form of justice was instituted since murder began and it has always been a spectacle. From  medieval times to the wild west, going to see public executions was a family outing. Even in recent times public executions in totalitarian states were used to instill fear and were often carried out in stadiums or city squares for all to witness. Hanging, stoning, decapitation, burning, boiling, crushing, dismemberment by horses, shooting, gassing, electrocution and lethal injection were some of the methods devised to kill. Death by hanging, shooting and lethal injection is still common around the world.

When the world emerged from the horrors of World War II, the move to abolish capital punishment began to gain ground. Taking someone's life by state sanction was seen as a gross violation of one's human right. As a result most developed nations abolished the death penalty, either in law or in practice. The United States is the only western nation that continued to put people to death. Out of the 50 states that make up the United States, 31 use the death penalty and so does the federal government. Today there are approximately 2900 inmates on death row across the nation, and 1400 have been executed since 1976.

On April 25, two prisoners were put to death by lethal injection in Arkansas in a single day. A double execution on the same day had not occurred since 2000 in the United States. On April 20th, another inmate had been executed and there were five more to follow. The state of Arkansas had not carried out a death sentence since 2005 and there seemed to be a sudden rush to put eight people to death who were condemned more than a decade ago. The reason, the drugs that are used to carry out the executions, were to expire. The drug of choice Midazolam was hard to come by, and the state was not willing to let it go to waste. So they scheduled to kill eight over a span of eleven days, the fastest pace of executions in decades. In all they managed to execute four. An injunction from a federal judge halted the executions citing, that the method of execution violated the inmates eighth amendment rights, which guaranteed a painless death. And the drugs being used to carry out the executions could not guarantee that. The Judge wrote "If Midazolam does not adequately anesthetize plaintiffs, or if their executions are 'botched, ' they will suffer severe pain before they die". Many drug manufacturers have objected to having their products used in executions and have refused to sell to prisons for this very reason. Previous botched executions by lethal injection around the country had created a climate of bad PR for the drug companies.

 A family member of one of the victims thanked the Arkansas Governor and the Department of Corrections for "flawlessly carrying out" the executions. According to an Associated Press reporter who witnessed one of the executions, the person "lurched and convulsed 20 times during the lethal injection".

All those who were sentenced to die, had no doubt committed horrific crimes. Their public death was no less horrific.

The debate around capital punishment and its use has always been a contentious one. Those who support the death penalty are seen as conservative in their viewpoint and those who oppose liberal. Those who support it offer a narrative which states that it deters crime, and some crimes warrant swift justice. Those who oppose it say, it is inhuman for a state to oversee the death of an individual as murder is murder either way. And statistics show that having the death penalty has not deterred crime and caused any significant dent in the murder rate. Amnesty International, the human rights organization that meticulously documents every execution around the planet, states that "the death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights. It violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment". Also the death penalty disproportionately befalls those who belong to racial and ethnic minority groups, the poor and people with mental illness.

Capital punishment is a popular position to take on the conservative side, as it sends a signal that they are tough on crime and therefore care for society at large. But what creates a criminal is seldom addressed. It is paradoxical that on one hand a gun culture is promoted and endorsed, which to a large extent leads to violent death, and then the death penalty is seen as a solution to deter crime.

The gravest problem with the death penalty is that it is so absolute that it is irreversible. Since 1973, about 150 prisoners have been sent to death, who were later exonerated of their crime. Others have been executed despite serious doubts about their guilt. Some of those who were executed in Arkansas claimed they were wrongly convicted. DNA testing has exonerated many on death row and it is routinely denied in many cases.

A very important question to ask is, what is achieved in tangible terms by executing someone other than maybe some sense of closure to those violated. An often expressed heartless comment is, "well it saves tax payer dollars". The upkeep of a prisoner is a drain on the system. In reality what saves tax payer dollars is an investment in society that provides better mental health to those in need and not executions. While politicians squabble over health care and gun control, peoples lives are constantly put at risk.  The American prison system is overburdened disproportionately by African American inmates. Violent death from guns in the United States is the highest in the developed world. Investing in addressing these societal problems actually saves tax payer dollars and improves the health of a nation.

The debate on what kind of punishment suits a crime is an old and fierce one, around which complex laws have been formulated. The depraved custom of state sanctioned death is always seen as the final solution to extreme criminality. Two films Dead Man Walking and Into the Abyss, captured the complexity and humanity of a system that puts people to death with great dramatic effect, nuance and weighty introspection. To me the most profound commentary on capital punishment in popular culture was made by Anthony Burgess in his 1962 dystopian novel, The Clockwork Orange. The book follows the life of a deviant, antisocial, delinquent Alex, who engages in "ultra-criminal" behavior. After he is arrested, as an alternative to being executed, he is put through a controversial psychological rehabilitation program to cure him of his criminality. Alex plays along as he is subjected to various invasive experiments and is later proclaimed cured. As he walks out of the prison a free man, he briefly relapses into contemplating images of violence in his mind in front of an applauding audience and says "I was cured, all right"!. What Anthony Burgess conveys, is that the onus of creating a better human being is on all of us. There is no absolute antidote to prevent aberrant human behavior. But the legalized killing of someone for their crime is pointless and barbarous. Rehabilitation may not be totally possible, but for a humane society, it is a goal worth pursuing. State sanctioned executions are unethical and immoral in any society as they only bloody the system. It is what it is.