Left Liberalism and all that Jazz!

For a long time I didn’t know the difference between left liberals, right wing conservatives and so on and so forth – they seem like such daunting words. I now know but don’t entirely understand. I have always been a bit wary of leaning to one side of this balance or the other. Well not always ..but maybe always 😛

I am still sitting on the fence. Well, not really on the fence; I am not a right wing conservative – I can assure you that!  But hey I am not a hard core left liberal either! (Ok, so I am a pseudo conservative – you’ve said that!).

I am not a left liberal because I don’t understand what being a left liberal means. Well, all I am trying to say is this. At times left liberalism seems the same as right conservatism – just that it is the other side of the spectrum (or balance) 🙂

Ok, so now that I have visibly upset all you left liberals (alright, the one left liberal) who are (is) either muttering about my pesudo conservatism, idiocy and other such things or openly calling me names or thinking why the hell should I be upset about some idiot who doesn’t understand what left liberalism is all about but is farting about it or may be just plain exasperated – I can peacefully move on.

I wonder if one is a left liberal then shouldn’t one be more tolerant? Religion is the root of all problems, you say? I beg to differ ..it is the religious fundamentalists who are. And by vehemently opposing religion, left liberals are only taking (giving more fodder to chew) on the senseless heedless fundamentalists without really tackling the deep rooted issues that they initally sought out to tackle.

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter which religion these fundamentalists believe in, it doesn’t even matter if these fundamentalists believe in any religion or not! Just being fundamentalists is enough! And hence I am saying, its not religion that is at fault, it is us with our extremes one way or the other that is at fault. And in that sense aren’t left liberals fundamentalists as well (now now, isn’t that a dangerous (you’d say stupid) remark to make).

Freedom of expression gives you the right to express your ideas, views on religion and any thing else you feel like; it certainly does. But the question to ask is does the way we express this right help solve the problems or not? More often that not it ends up creating more menace which I am sure was not the original intent. But what about the idea of painting Jesus in a purdah or say some Hindu God on a cross. It could even be argued that it propogates unity!  I most certainly have a problem with right wing fundamentalists who create a ruckus about this for nothing. But left liberals supporting this in the name of freedom of expression is a bit much, I would say. Now personally I couldn’t care less, (even if this is not exactly my idea of creativity), but I certainly am cynical of the intentions and talents even of the painter in question. Well, that’s just me I think, a confused cynic, who is now bored!

Rant over!

And if you are going to tell me that my ranting above only shows my ignorance and misunderstanding (or is it non understanding in this case!) of left liberalism..then pray enlighten me!

 P.S – I have been trying to write one post without the use of brackets and without the excessive use of but, now, so, well etc.,. But if you cared to notice, I surpassed my own levels by using brackets within brackets 😛 ..ok so you don’t care..whatever!

 

Crisis!

Life is full of it. Identity crisis. Midlife crisis. This crisis. That Crisis. I don’t understand any of it. But I feel all of it.

When P confesses astonishment about one’s need for identity, I am confused. As far as I am concerned, that’s the whole idea of living – having one’s own identity. I can’t think otherwise. Having an identity is not just important, to me it is imperative. I believe that our every action & non action defines our identity. It may not be unique, tho’ we all would wish, think and believe it to be.

But P has a different story to tell. In his world, there is no need for an identity – an individual’s or a group’s. It is this identity that limits us, causes strife, he says. That may be, but even so how can one not have an identity. I don’t understand it!

But do we really have an identity? If so, is it determined by our DNA? Our environment? Our stars? Or simply by us? Does our identity keep changing with time or is it our perception of it that changes. Again is our perception independent from our identity?

I am perpetually in the state of identity crisis. I don’t really know what it means. But I know that nothing gives me a sense of identity any more. With every move in my life, I struggle to hold on to my old identity that had no place in the new environment. I resist change for the fear of losing my identity. Finally when I am prepared for the change, it is already time for another change. The trend continues and I am still struggling to find my identity.

I ask again, does our identity or our perception of it change with time? And are they really independent of each other?

Am I a confused, bored, cynic because that’s who I think I am, I should be? Is that my identity? Is that who I wish to be? Or is that who I believe myself to be? Now this is beginning to sound like that ‘piece of art’ I wrote sometime ago!

Well, I was never very good with words, but currently my thoughts are so intermingled that even coherence seems far far away!

 

An Ode to

The one who creeps in
With a slight scratch.
While he pricks like a pin
All you can do is sit & watch.

At all cost you want him gone
So you indulge in an useless skirmish
Lemsip, vicks, milk with turmeric & so on
(antibiotics if you are more foolish)

You may run around with trepidation
But you know, nothing’s of any use,
He will remain in your station
Countering every action with his ruse.

As he takes over your body
Your throat, nose, head, face,
You swear, you haven’t seen anyone so shoddy
No one else can leave you in such deep malaise.

Alas, after a week, you are used to him
You give up fighting, lay down your arms,
bow down in front of him who is so grim
Only to find him else where trying his charms!

{Note: The (bad) poem is not the effect of ‘him’. This is what I am truly capable of!}