There is a massive divide in our country right now, led by politics and both the HAVES & the HAVE-NOTS are to be blamed for that.
At the core of this issue is the shift in priorities, where an average citizen has started believing that he/she is now a politician and therefore has to belong to a political ideology. NO dammit! You are NOT a politician. You are an average citizen that elected politicians to govern the country and run the politics. You on the other hand, should have other priorities - get an education, make a living, raise a family, discover your potential & stay happy.
When did you start believing that you had to run a political agenda and fight daily on social media to protect some politician? Justifying a politician is the job of a politician not yours. What benefit are you getting out of it? Is your life getting better? Getting more opportunities? Better roads? Hell are you vaccinated yet?
There is a large section of our society that is frustrated that it didn’t get the right deal in life. Crudely classified as the HAVE-NOTS. Maybe they are angry at life itself, maybe they are scared of losing their identity and desperately want something to believe in. I understand. But by falling into this left wing- right wing bullshit trap, you have handed the narrative of your own life in the hands of the politicians. What do you expect would happen?
The ‘HAVES’ on the other hand are scared to lose what they have. Scared to say something wrong that might get them in trouble. So they have confined themselves in a bubble. With blinkers on, they pretend that everything is ok and even if it’s not, it doesnt concern them. The latest trend is to brand this group as the one with “privilege” and be made villains. I have noticed most of them, in an attempt to be politically correct and to pander to the audience, actually apologise for their life!!
Gosh, when did it become a negative thing to want to have a better life, make progress, earn money, have fun?
When individuals in a society start apologising for doing well, the society is in a downward spiral.
But it’s not that these ‘HAVES’ are not to be blamed:
I blame you for disengaging.
I blame you for sitting in your closed groups, sipping Yamazakis and pretending you are an outsider to what’s happening in our country.
I blame my tribe, the comedians, for engaging with social media trolls all day trying to prove how funny we are by pulling a smart one-liner on them, when all we are actually doing is getting sucked into the same regressive narrative and amplifying the negative.
We are all to be blamed. We have been brainwashed into negativity.
Majority in our country believe that we are at war - with Bollywood, IPL, international celebrities, students, farmers, comedians & whoever next we are told to be angry at. Reality is none of these entities actually are a threat to our existence - some actually provide entertainment, some are totally unrelated to our life and yet….
Have you heard of this term ‘mob mentality’? This is how its defined
“Herd mentality, mob mentality and pack mentality, describes how people can be influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviours on a largely emotional, rather than rational basis. When individuals are affected by mob mentality, they may make different decisions than they would have individually”
If your mind-space is filled with justifying a religious or political agenda all day, then congratulations you are now a MOB.
If you interpret every statement as a politically motivated statement aimed at threatening your or the country’s existence, then congratulations you are now a MOB.
If you are in meerut or madurai and you think bollywood is to blame for your problems, congratulations you are now a MOB.
Even right now a lot of you are reading this with a political lens, thinking ‘here goes another comedian speaking against Modi’.
NO! He is not even mentioned here! To me all politicians are the same. Their priority is to get votes, win elections & to be in power! You cant blame them for wanting that! Yes you can (& should) ask questions on the method they are adopting to be in power or the decisions they are taking in governance. You can agree or disagree on their approach but as a citizen, to come to a point where your existence / your identity is now based on a political ideology is simply sad.
What is sadder is that conversations around work, economy, growth, entertainment, better life, dreams and motivations have all vanished from the regular public discourse. News, social media, conversations with friends - are all just filled with one thing - politics!
Someone asked me recently, which side are you on, right wing or left wing? To which I just replied saying I am on the side of jokes.
That’s my job. That’s what matters to me. That’s what puts food on my table.
What puts food on your table? I can bet it’s not politics. Then why give it so much importance?
#changethenarrative
This was such a refreshing point of view. It lightened (and enlightened) my mind too. :)
"I am on the side of the jokes" - Yes!