Cassandra… no, wait, was it Cassandra? You know,
the lady who warned folks of ill times and was reviled and jeered at for her
troubles. Well, if it wasn’t she, it ought to have been, her name has the
proper sibilance. Anyway, I think I hear her, but, I’m not jeering, ‘cuz, much
as I don’t want to, I’m beginning to see what she is going on about here in,
but not limited to, India. Indeed not.
But…
The worldwide [I mean, check out the state of
affairs in the putatively non-religious Russia; the 12 Labors of Hercules (beta),
Vladimir Putin and his heroic battle against the non-believers as visualized by
State commissioned Art. And then there is all too obvious ISIL, the US Supreme
Court decision that redefined ‘separation of Church and State’ not to mention
North Kores], where was I? Oh yes, the worldwide trend of religion as
governance, and the deification of politicians, is making itself more and more
visible in the governance of India and that is a crying shame. And that, as
Cassandra will have it, bodes for those who have the seeing of it..
Boding is not good. It darkens the vision and saps
the spirit. Tomorrow becomes a bogey in the intervening night and can blind the
senses to possibilities. Perceptions become selective and it becomes more and
more difficult to remember that India is a young vibrant construct that has
been more successful in this business of democracy and people power than have
any of her contemporaneous bits and pieces of crumbled Empire
India has in 6 and a little bit decades reached a
degree of social consciousness it has taken the US two centuries to realize. Largely,
I think, because of a long tradition, culture, of tolerance and respect of
difference, known as hinduism, the philosophy [hp].
But…
The same tradition, culture, and philosophy, is
being elevated to the upper case status of Hinduism, the Religion [HR].
As Cassandra is pointing out, HR is planting its pennons in the
halls of power and governance. Saffron is becoming the Office wear of a number,
an influential number, of India’s law makers. There are places in India where
history is being re-formed into interpretations that suit the purposes of Faith
and Belief, and included in school curricula.Local ordinances against hurt
religious sentiments are being, enforced, sometimes forcibly. Zealots, armed
with cudgels and bricks, can enforce faith based rules and moralities with
impunity and too often immunity. Religion based gerrymandering of the
electorate is a fact of the politics of gover…
Wait one second. I’ve been through this once
before. Let’s see, when was that? Oh yes, I recall, Ronald Reagan’s triumphant
march, Crusader colors, symbols, justifications, and all. Which begat Dubya, a
Right wing Supreme Court, the Republican Senate and Dick Cheney. And we can see
the result of all of that, live, [you should pardon the expression], and bloody
color on CNN International any hour of
the day or night.
I wonder if Cassandra would be willing to join me
in a bottle of retsina.
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