I am pretty sure no one knows ‘tolerance’ better than us Indians. Be it the 50 degrees hot humid day to 2 long hours of annoying yet unavoidable traffic, we are good enough to bear almost everything that could happen to our human spirit. This high degree of adaptability, actually asks for consolation and not applause. We know how unbearable things can get, yet we manage to settle down and adapt to the situation, no matter what.
When young and charged with passion, with a drive to pursue a career of our choice, that is when dad’s highest disappointment and ‘you-are abandoned, right now!’ attitude gets-in. When in love and planning to marry the one you actually want to marry, mom’s seemingly unstoppable tears gets-in, which probably is the ultimate tool to get things done. Even if still left with some spark of life at the mid-fifties and looking to give up the 10 to 5 job for a start-up, societal pressure gets-in, and one finally realizes that it’s too late to expect a change in life.
Well, while it’s too hard to ‘set-free’ and best and easy to ‘fit-in’ , a little peeping into a culture that embraces freedom like it’s only lover, will surely light-up the hearts for a while. This is California- the silicon valley, where Mr. PM is soon to visit.
This is a place that stands out all odds and oozes freedom against all bondages. Here are a few facts that make California one of the highly adaptable and welcoming states of the world-
- California was one of the first states to allow women to vote in America in 1911. The 19th Amendment in America’s constitution came by 1920. By then, women in California were already practicing their rights to vote as per their will.
- It had legalized same-sex relationships in 1976. One of the first states to embrace the change, it laid ways for gays to nationalize their demands for rights.
- California is the most immigrant friendly place in the states. It is home to the world’s second largest influx of expatriates. We surely need to revisit our definition of ‘tolerance’. Remember, had Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai been in India, they would have been one amongst the guys who we come across on traffic signals, returning back from a long tiring day at office, hoping that their wife is back home and the AC in the room is turned on.
- This state also celebrates gay-marriages and net-neutrality. Our stand on this issue is still unclear. And according to the new encryption policy- all encrypted data, personal emails, messages, and stored data upto 90 days back of use will be in access of the government. Don’t we badly need to give up all self-imposed hypocrisies?
California certainly has no place for ‘tolerance’. All it knows is acceptance and freedom. Freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom to ‘live’ life and not to sustain. I hope our beloved Mr. PM gets some time out of his busy big business deals and cares to scratch the surface beyond business interests and find the colours of Californian culture a great lesson to teach India through his next Mann-ki-Baat session. Have a great time Mr. PM! 🙂