Been thinking about setting up a website for myself, been lazy about it for several months now. But a couple of weeks ago I met a fellow journalist who said, why don't you blog to start with? See how it goes?
So ... let's see how it goes.
The name is one of the funniest bumper stickers I ever saw, I think while driving around Austin (which, come to think of it, is the kind of place you'd find bumper stickers like that). Then again, Plato once said "Only the dead have seen the end of war", which isn't nearly as funny.
My obsession these days is patriotism. I'll post some of what I write on the subject from time to time, as also other pieces I do. In the meantime, as a start, here are two quotes on patriotism.
1: Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles. -George Jean Nathan, author and editor (1882-1958)
2: The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one's country deep enough to call her to a higher standard. -Senator George McGovern
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Travel: Our Judgement Free
My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die. (Listen)
It was January the thirtieth/And everybody was feelin' fine.
Yo!
Good times!
TwitTwotTwet
Some of my writing
Asirgarh, Narbona, towelsTsunami reports
Girls of his (my) dreams
Winner, Outlook/Picador 2004/5
'74 Bra Flinging Story
Not just about tennis
My books
Branded by Law | The Narmada Dammed | RoadrunnerSome of my photographs
Worth your time
Ramani's fieldnotesTom Pietrasik | Abi
Annie | Shivam V
Bombay Addict
Uma MD | Amitava Kumar | John Naughton
Amin for your travel needs
4 comments:
I discovered that I had an ccount on this too. I didn't know. By the way, welcome to the blogging community.
Ani, is there really a "blogging community"? How did you get an account here without knowing about it?
Dilip,
Good stuff! I guess, unlike an ingrown toe nail, what Maran and co. bank on is the fact that problems with one's telephone are self correcting.
By the time you work through the maze of numbers, offices and more helplines, the problem will likely have gotten fixed or you figure that the time you spent on getting the problem fixed is more expensive than the problem itself.
Hey Dilip,
I too have strong views on patriotism. Mostly negative. I can be lynched for all that I have to really say. Nevertheless, here I go…
I believe that this secondary emotion is grossly outmoded. Patriotism has been a means to align the masses towards some ends, mostly bad ones, like war!
Often, it looks like a communalism to me. Like communalism it tends to encourage pride in one culture at the expense of all others.
And it can be suicidal if not reigned in at this time of silent nuclear proliferation.
But there is a silver lining: Globalisation. The rise of common business interests and greater dependencies among nation-states could be the first step toward shedding the vestige of patriotism. Another step could be communications. Email, chat, cheaper telephone calls, electronic arts like movies and blogging could make patriotism unfashionable sooner than we expect.
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