How will you react if tomorrow India passes a resolution against tourists wearing western dresses in India? Sort of like the Burkini Ban in France. Will you oppose it?
Hell, that would make up a good hoopla. But before answering it, let us talk about the one that has happened in France.
France’s Love For Its Image Of An Open Country
Today, if you talk about France then you are talking about a country which is counted among the powerful economies of the world. It is a country that intends to keep up its image of a freedom loving country.
You may have heard about the Charlie Hebdo case: That magazine aspiring to be the most non-conformist among its peers went on to publish a number of disputable Muhammad cartoons, which we all know how it ended.
One time, France has banned tomato ketchup in its primary schools. They did this to keep their traditional cuisine alive and famous among their students.
And now the Burkini ban, though it has been scrapped later but it clearly shows what France is trying to do.
This Trait Is Common Among The Big Shots
China is well-known for banning anything and everything that even distantly promotes Western culture or digs its own values. China has curbed everything that has tried to make its culture mongrel.
Dubai, the sin city of the Middle East is famous for its lavish lifestyle but when it comes to their values and culture, they don’t compromise. You may have the permit to drink alcohol but a public display of affection will land you in trouble. They have their cops undercover and any of your derogatory comments on Islam will incur problems. Freedom of Speech is not everywhere.
Every country has the right to keep alive its culture and beliefs, to first think about itself before anything.
Even the USA, which doesn’t come under orthodox countries, takes a risk of tarnishing its image of being an open one by having a rigorous immigration and airport security system. And if you are a Muslim, you will be put under more scrutiny (the recent Shahrukh Khan’s detention at Los Angeles airport).
Now, Do You Oppose The Question With The Same Initial Vigour?
After reading the above facts you may think that now the question that I asked before seems somewhat acceptable and is not worthy of your initial vehement opposition. And if that is exactly what you think then you are a part of that problem which is why I’m writing this article.
We are so desperate for having an opinion that we hardly pay time to think beforehand. And we never hesitate to change our view as soon as someone ready with some facts bicker in front of us. We just blindly oppose or support a thing which we had just heard, without even delving into the matter.
Everyone has to have an opinion about everything. Nobody wants to be in the “I don’t know, let me research it and then make comments” region.
Instead, we tend to live in a our own world, in which we think having a Twitter account means to comment on every issue, no matter how complex it is.
Everything we see and judge, we see in the frame of reference of the western world. If an Indian goes abroad, he makes himself ready to face many unusual things he has to face like for example the excessive tipping practice in the USA, he will abide by the propriety no matter how absurd they are for him because West is always right.
People just actively oppose what doesn’t seem western and that too without any valid reason.
We always hear about the illogical and risible judgements taken by the panchayats of banning jeans and/or mobile phones. This is downright wrong. Fervently opposing it is fair and right. No second thoughts on that.
We have seen Twitterzens fervently condemning these type of illogical events but the same people feel shame in talking in Hindi at McDonald’s.
And if somewhere in the corner you think that talking in Hindi at McDonald’s will lower your stature and will make the counter boy think of you an illiterate then you are wrong and so is that guy behind the counter.
You must have a middle way approach. Incorporating western-ism is nice but deeming our own culture as pitiful and uncouth is wrong.
And that goes not just for above case. Don’t form an opinion just because your friends think so or the news debate that you saw says so. Don’t just follow the herd mentality after having read only the headline. Scrutinise the issue before saying anything.
Next time you face a similar situation of Good Vs Bad, think before having an opinion. Not everything can be categorised in these two adjectives.
IMAGE COURTESY: getthefive.com
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