A Better Citizen of India : Some food for thought

We are proud of our soldiers in the border. But just as borders are their responsibility, what goes on inside is ours. We can't let just the defense forces carry all the burdens, we as citizen should strive for better.

We are idiots and this war was the mirror. Even if the undivided unity was a welcome scenery, we still have miles to go. I won't go into the what we are ducking up, there's a lot. So here, I'll try to organize my thoughts towards the solutions. If you want to add anything feel free.

Before I start, you are a free citizen of a free country (see what I did there lurkers from our neighbors !!), if something offends you you are free to express, if something can be corrected you are free to indulge, stick to the issue and the solution, be civil. Some of the solutions may not be applicable or feasible for all, but nonetheless, it's my perspective, I won't mind improvements to these. These are the scenarios I am most worried on :

How not to drown in the social sea : One of the most toxic circle currently used by us all are the social sites. The solution I use is to not install the apps, instead use the web versions. One point I will emphasize again and again is that try to be more purposeful in your actions, when you open any application, open it with a purpose, whether to see the photos or check the messages. Aimless scroll dooms all. We should really get a digital detox.

Curating the content : Although I could have put this in the previous point, but it is too big of a problem in itself, the problem of content consumption. YouTube, Facebook, reels, these feed constant garbage. Phone users uninstall the app, use free and opensource tools to remove factory installed apps like YouTube. See contents related to hobbies and your interests. What you consume is what you will get, don't get swept up with the recommendations which are forced upon you. Remember what you came to watch and stick to that. I personally have blocked all shorts and recommendations. Only search gives me results and I stick with what I can commit. It is difficult for normal person who isn't tech savvy, but you can get tutorials online how to block certain parts of a webpage.

The mess we have for the fourth pillar of democracy : News channels, I never imagined the media will be so incompetent at such a time, it shamed us in a global stage.

Solution, learn to search for credible sources,I am not saying they will be safe from propaganda, but they are answerable to us and will have some restraint on the bluffs.

Also something in journalism that I have seen to disappear is the fundamental principle of, Report don't speculate. Any news channel that gives you an opinion or speculation is failing as a news channel. We as citizen should have the freedom to chose our narrative, they should only provide us the reports. So whenever you come across a channel selling opinions and speculations, abandon it.

Relearn how to turn the brain gears : Learning critical thinking. Think before you speak, a phrase that we grew up hearing, now is more relevant than ever, think before you type. The purpose, what it should achieve, We are just tiny boats in a sea of information trying to navigate through with the vast sky of misinformation. The more you question the better you will get at not having answers to everything, and once you see the pattern that not every thing is black and white and nor does it come with a apt explanation you might be able to figure out what the situation really is.

The parallel of Perspective : In art one of the first thing we learn is perspective, what does this look like from their point of view, and how come it can be different if we are looking at the same thing. Meet new people, instead of arguing with keyboards, learn to have discussion face to face, talk with people with different views than you, don't speak without trying to understand first.

The seduction of hate :

Sylvie: It would just be easier to burn this place down and start from scratch!

Loki: Sure. Burn it down, easy. Annihilating it, easy. Razing things to the ground is easy. Trying to fix what's broken is hard. Hope is hard.

We as humans always need something to hate, we unite and divide by hate. Hate is a necessary evil. But don't make hate your whole personality, insulting others doesn't make you cool. Destroying a shop which has served your country for years faithfully just because of it's name is stupidity, which stems from passionate hate. Let's just hate pakistan and hold this country together, it's getting fragile from inside, and defense force can't do shit if we don't. We need more intellectualism and less content and hate mongering.

Don't forget you are human : Learn to appreciate your existence. Get excited about science, art, literature. There are lots of other things to be passionate about other than a political party or a celebrity. If you are passionate about your religion, then be passionate about the discipline, respect and morality it preaches.

This world is cool, the nature is lit, people are awesome. Alright, everything has flaws, but that's life. How long will you thrive hating something, justifying something wrong. Why do you need an innocent rape victim to start standing up for women, why do you need a war to stand with your own people, why do you need a drought to start saving water, or a suicide to stop exploiting innocent people. Being a human is not hard just be aware of your actions, add some kindness and you get humanity.

I wish everyone took their life more seriously than their jobs and exams. It's really a short while, at first your parents then your kids and significant other, there's not much time with them, every moment the time is ticking. You can't hug your parents and cry after they are gone, you kids won't stay kids forever. You won't be getting back this minute you are wasting reading this again. So stop being an ass, and live for fucks sake.

Be an Indian : We all have our own vision of our country, Just try being a good Indian. Be better than yesterday. Keep doing that everyday. That's all to it. With these many people striving to be better, we don't need anyone else.

PS: I am in no position to talk so highly here. In the end all I am doing is just being a keyboard warrior too. But the thing is I have been silent about a lot of things, I never posted stories or posts or comments or anything about any of the heinous atrocities that has happened in our country or to our country. Because in the end I felt just doing that won't fix anything. So I kept working, doing what I do best. Even now, this post is more for myself rather than for anyone else. But if getting my principles straight helps someone else too then why not write something for once.