Choose beyond you

The 2016 election stands out in recent history because there has been such polarization between the two major parties. The nominees from both sides bring out very strong feelings in supporters of both sides. Let me first put my views out in the open, so we can get past that. I support Hillary for her experience, and the fact that she is human. Donald is simply too evil of a person - a misogynistic racist, totally incompetent, very stupid, and hateful of everyone who does not wear a blonde toupee. The worst part is that not only does he not try to hide his vile attributes, he encourages his supporters to indulge in theirs! If they had a cardboard box opposing him, I would vote for that.

Well, now onto what I want to say.

Politics is a process of ensuring proper governance for all. It involves debate and discussion. This is the public stage of our personal choices and thoughts. Paradoxically, it is served best when we keep our personal agenda where it belongs: within us. Religion, loves and hates, stereotypes and fearfulness have no place in how we should play politics.

And that is simply because this is how we ensure governance for the whole. Not just us, everyone. Not only people we like, but all people. And so the decision we make is not for what we would like, but what would enable the best progress for everyone.

All our life, our decisions, actions and beliefs are coloured with what a Harvard professor calls "situatedness",which explains that we always approach every situation from our own individual dynamic platform. A platform that has been built, and is constantly being built, by our life-experiences and learning. Even common sets of beliefs are rendered different because of their intensity, or their leanings. So we have a set of values that are are uniquely ours.

But when we look for our leaders, we must keep these aside. We must think beyond ourselves. We must think of all of those who need what a government can do, and should do, for them.

I have wonderful friends that I love and agree with. But my political affiliation is very different from theirs. Because again, I am not thinking of me, I am thinking of us. I am not thinking of what works with my beliefs, I am thinking of which set of principles will let everyone live their beliefs. That is strongest, surest way I can protect mine, after all.

 I might be annoyed by a certain section of people who are not even trying to assimilate into our country, but I understand that just shooing them away is not the best thing to do for a country that is made by immigrants. Not recognizing people just because they are different  is not aligned with our commitment to freedom, and to our collective pursuit of happiness. I might not believe in abortion, or agree with gay marriage, but I will fight to defend the rights of others to do as they deem fit.

Looking beyond our own narrow set of values is not a difficult concept - President Barack Obama did it! Our political choices should be made not on what we think, but what the country stands for. They should be based not on what is good for us personally, but on what enables progress for all sections of our society. Our leaders should be picked not on who matches skin tones or gender, but on who will work for a peaceful collaborative world. Our vote should be predicated solely what is most beneficial for the most.

My vote is for whoever stands more strongly for justice, for freedom, for tolerance and acceptance. And yes, this year it is an easy choice. In this presidential election I am standing against the daft raving  lunatic who stands for nothing but hate and discord.

I am with her.

Changing Vistas

I live in Florida now. I have to keep reminding myself it is not a dream. Living beside a lake, albeit with a resident alligator, in a lovely home with a pool, seems more like a vacation to me than routine living.

The sunrise colors of the morning and the Disney fireworks at night are also a daily reminder of the path life has made me traverse to get to this. For every destination is a consequence of steps you have taken, or been made to take. Each moment you live is because of other moments you have acted upon, or reacted to. Each experience you have is a direct effect of  of the attitudes and opinions you have formed and developed through the years.

It has been tumultuous journey, and I am grateful it has been so much better than so many others whose life transitions involve the horrors of deprivation and war.

Nevertheless, all transitions are traumatic. Every change, especially one that you have never anticipated uproots you in many ways - physically of course, but emotionally and socially too. Making a voluntary change does not make it easier, especially if the purpose, like mine, was to simply rip away the old. Life's vicissitudes are tough, but they help you grow, and learn and see things in a new light every time. The  freshness one sees in the lay of the land, the food, the climate, in the smells and sounds of a new region, in the thinking and culture of a different set of people; it all adds a new dimension to your own person, and consciously or not, you grow to be better, more aware, more tolerant, more open-minded, more open-hearted. More accepting of what life has thrown at you.

I look with immense curiosity upon people who have had a relatively even sailing in life with no drastic changes, with things moving on their planned road-map at an even keel. The simple prospect of being born, living and dying in the same place must be comforting. To have the same familiar surroundings, to grow within your own city, to have around you all that you will ever know, and therefore ever want, right there, always. It must bring about a certain kind of peaceful stability. I am not sure, however if these smooth lives are a blessing. Is not being the same, however satisfactory, leaving you stagnant? And is not stagnancy the opposite of progress? On the other hand, is progress and growth worth it if they come with pain and stress?

I do not know if we would be content if the vistas and horizons we see through life remain the same, but we certainly would not know any better. We certainly would not appreciate real deep happiness when it comes, we certainly would have nothing to compare our lives to, or even our own older selves to. We would not learn to keep adapting, growing and learning. And yes, living.

Whether the lives we lead are more fulfilling with change, or more effective without it, we will only know if have lived them well. What you have been given is inconsequential, what you do with it is all that matters. I think it is easier to know what to do with life when you have seen more, felt more and experienced more. And for that, change, and a little tribulation, is necessary.