Friday, November 20, 2009

Green Green Shine and Sheen

Kyle is an accomplished "Doctor" who can treat laggardness faster than you can spell it.
Kyle is a known supporter of the Green Party for US national elections.
Kyle is the only official reader of this blog.

What a lame way to acknowledge Dr Burke's contribution to enrich (one) human's life on earth.

Recently Germany held his national election and the Green Party secured close to 11% of the votes. That is a remarkable figure to attain (in two decades) for a non-mainstream party.

The Green Party, in different avatars around the world, are formed by people who are concerned about the environment; primarily, natural environment, but also social-economic conditions around us. They are about "All Things Good". Google-era netizens are encouraged to think of their "Do no evil"-overlord. Like most parties, except they are _also_ concerned about trees and clouds and bubble clad waves.

Talks are on in India for a similar Green Party. While I wholeheartedly welcome the initiative and would put all of my 2oz weight behind it, the situation is different in India. Like most things copied from the "West", adaptations are necessary and very much crucial, for any concept to survive the Indian potbellies. The usual hurdles are prejudice and fanatical conservative ideals. Of the two broad classes of ideas in matters of social customs, the "timeless" ones end up getting hurt to protect the "time-bound" ones. "This practice of blah is going on for 237 years." is hard to beat even when "blah" has fallen out of the grace of time. Bonus if the harbinger is from outside the community.

Another hurdle is the very Indian fight to survive Indian evils. Hunger, poverty, ill to family, ill to God, ill to any dent in social customs. Most good speeches are still made from high up podiums. The people at the frontline are just too busy to fight. You speak to them about emissions. At the best you get an absent minded nod. He doesn't care. He has to earn money to take his ill mom to a clinic. The nearby hospital has redefined the notion of "free treatment".

Yet the effort to launch an official political platform is laudable. To think beyond "isms", think beyond social strata, with objectives that do not change with upcoming elections. A true green party.