Fear in the Society
Cross posting it from Desicritics.
Can freedom and fear co-exist? Going by the recent cartoon controversy, apparently not. Freedom by definition is the ability to do think/ act/ speak without constraints and causing harm. Fear is something which stops you from doing the same because of the consequences.
In a democratic set-up like India and the US, fear has become a part of the national fabric. The US citizens are afraid of paedophiles, of been robbed on the roads at gun-point and after 9/11, the whole country is cautious. Is this the price one pays for freedom?
Rang De Basanti has been applauded by most of us. Like armchair missionaries we appreciate anything that represents the cause. But seldom do we take it up on ourselves to change the system. A Manjunath or Satyendra Dubey, upright citizens who died on duty, reaffirm the fear. We choose to keep quite because the consequences scare us. The Freedom of speech and expression may incite many to voice their concerns, but unless an Act to protect the Whistle Blower is firmly in place, they shall continue to clam up. India strongly needs a Whistle Blower Act as rightly stated here .This Act can assure citizens of protection from harmful forces but addresses only a part of the problem.
General feelings of insecurity and mistrust in a society cannot be dealt through Acts alone. Humans, by nature, are suspicious of their surroundings. This can be traced back to the Neanderthal times when we had to live amidst wild animals and safeguard ourselves against such environs. Locks, Double doors, encrypted passwords are all an extension of the same. We tend to think everyone is out to harm us.
Fear can also exist due to different value systems. In a democratic set-up, where more than one belief exists, differences can creep in. These differences can lead to conflicts which eventually lead to mistrust within the society. At some places like Afghanistan, fear was the direct result of the tyrant Taliban rule. When laws are guided by written word instead of human concern, misery is bound to exist. In both the cases, freedom of expression is affected by external constraints.
What then causes mistrust and insecurity to thrive? Why do the they give rise to fear which hampers harmonious relations? What can we do about it?
The country's coming together on the Jessica Lal case is an example of how the situation can be changed. When those in the 'system' know that they cant get away with anything and those outside it know that they have the power to change it, the fear of exercising freedom will eventually be curbed.
© Zarine.
Can freedom and fear co-exist? Going by the recent cartoon controversy, apparently not. Freedom by definition is the ability to do think/ act/ speak without constraints and causing harm. Fear is something which stops you from doing the same because of the consequences.
In a democratic set-up like India and the US, fear has become a part of the national fabric. The US citizens are afraid of paedophiles, of been robbed on the roads at gun-point and after 9/11, the whole country is cautious. Is this the price one pays for freedom?
Rang De Basanti has been applauded by most of us. Like armchair missionaries we appreciate anything that represents the cause. But seldom do we take it up on ourselves to change the system. A Manjunath or Satyendra Dubey, upright citizens who died on duty, reaffirm the fear. We choose to keep quite because the consequences scare us. The Freedom of speech and expression may incite many to voice their concerns, but unless an Act to protect the Whistle Blower is firmly in place, they shall continue to clam up. India strongly needs a Whistle Blower Act as rightly stated here .This Act can assure citizens of protection from harmful forces but addresses only a part of the problem.
General feelings of insecurity and mistrust in a society cannot be dealt through Acts alone. Humans, by nature, are suspicious of their surroundings. This can be traced back to the Neanderthal times when we had to live amidst wild animals and safeguard ourselves against such environs. Locks, Double doors, encrypted passwords are all an extension of the same. We tend to think everyone is out to harm us.
Fear can also exist due to different value systems. In a democratic set-up, where more than one belief exists, differences can creep in. These differences can lead to conflicts which eventually lead to mistrust within the society. At some places like Afghanistan, fear was the direct result of the tyrant Taliban rule. When laws are guided by written word instead of human concern, misery is bound to exist. In both the cases, freedom of expression is affected by external constraints.
What then causes mistrust and insecurity to thrive? Why do the they give rise to fear which hampers harmonious relations? What can we do about it?
The country's coming together on the Jessica Lal case is an example of how the situation can be changed. When those in the 'system' know that they cant get away with anything and those outside it know that they have the power to change it, the fear of exercising freedom will eventually be curbed.
© Zarine.
Comments
I guess it all boils down to whether we still have that fire left in our belly to speak out against what we feel is unjustified or are we content being what you have rightly called as 'armchair missionaries', subdued by fear of adverse consequences; speaking out only when assured of safety in numbers.
By the way, thanks for dropping by and commenting on my bloggie!!!
:)
We as a very "cultural" and "spiritual" community can raise our voices and demonstrate agains acts that hurt our sentiments...minus violence
In the cartoon issue, the protests taken out were logical, however the anger and hatred displayed by trashing shops and pelting stones at crowds is an act of disgrace and should be condemned by the very people who supported this protest. But it does not means that the cartoon was indeed rightly drawn.
We make sure that we do not hurt any one's sentiment then how come other people reciprocate in the same way.
In an ideal scenario, the culprits should have come up with a public apology and the community should've taken in their stride and carry on with it...
MT ...India (land of ayodyha,Godhra,kasi and the list never ends...)
our generation i.e. the youth of today has no idea about what they have and thus complain about peety things. we do not understand that by freedom what we have is the right to change what is wrong . if we feel that the government is corrupted then we have the right to get into the system and change it . we have the oppertunity to take our nation to reach the sky. we might be proud of our freedom fighters coz they laid their life for the nation but we have never tried to understand the cause of their struggle . they wanted to do what we can do today.
well what RDB wanted to show is that it is the same blood that flows into our hearts , its justr a matter of realising it . it showed that those guys were killed as they were taken for as terrorists.
but if we do what we can then we can get what we want. its just a matter of realising it.
for example that j.lal case you refer to here. well if some nation loving person was a judge who wanted justice to prevail over self interest then we wouldnt have had witnessed just a decision at the first place. so it must act as a source of inspiration for all those pursuing law as a career that they must stive to excell in their field to be in the position of that judge someday and be able to give a verdict that will not be biased to the culprit come what may.
wen will u update :)