Friday, November 28, 2008

I Pledge

Everyone's talking about terror.

SMS, tickers, blogs, twitter - everything talks about how we can take it. Aren't we supposed to have reached our limits of accepting terror ? We should give it back? How can we be not prepared?...

Emails are flying. Lets spread the message. Lets get all Indians together. terror is at our doorstep and we have to stand united.

We forward this to hundred people and then, log out our systems, and walk out into our world. Then we spit on the roadsides, we jump signals, we bribe the policemen to escape a heavy fine for traffic rule violation.

In Chennai, OMR has probably the largest traffic by educated drivers. All the software companies attract all the big colleges and talented people. So are the roads the safest? Are the roadsides the cleanest? Nope!!!!!

I decided, i would simply delete those forward mails, and would silently make one resolution. To pledge. to be responsive and good to the country.

I Pledge.
Not to litter or to make my country dirty.
Not to jump signals and violate traffic rules.
Not to bribe policemen toescape from hefty fines.
To vote.

I Pledge.
To respect India.

For that is the first step in respecting the sacrifice that the brave policemen are making in Mumbai. and all over the country.

3 comments:

  1. Well said! It has to start at an individual level! But sure its gonna take a lot of effort and commitment! I hope atleast this time this is not forgotten after a few days, as it is usually the case! Speaking about individual responsibility, I came across this small incident last week - read it here

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  2. U r right Vinu, the keyword is no more "start" it is "sustain". We have shown enough number of times that we can start. The question is - can we sustain ?

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  3. It was heart breaking what happened in Mumbai. Something that makes you uncomfortable for a longer period of time. Beyond the incident itself and lives lost.. its the kind of insecurity, crudity man kind is suffering from that bothers me most.
    Its heart breaking to see so many smart young minds are being corrupted by selfish ulterior motives of few insecure, cruel B******.
    Its heart breaking to see how many people take advantage over the deaths of so many people for some selfish ulterior motives..
    Its heart breaking to see the thick line between our species and the rest of the living being on this planet fading away slowly...
    Reports said, attackers used high technology.. its heart breaking to see these young brilliant minds and technology used for such purposes.. when we have so many real problems to solve, poverty, global warming, life on mars, and everthing else we are fighting against and for.

    Its really really heart breaking......

    Well said about the individual responsibilities and what we owe to our own living place! I remember in the family day trips i was called "garbage collector (translated), because it used to carry around a plastic bag inside the van or bus to make sure nobody throws anything on the road..
    however is it sustainable, not sure, when you cant spot a garbage can for kilometers together... 100s sometimes.. its really hard to sustain when we are not equipped enough ..
    Traffic signals.. you get abused, you get honked everything if you try to follow the rules.. this cycle guy yelled at me cos he was passing red, and i happed to be on green.. but this is not hard we can shut our ears and never bother cos we know what we are doing is right..
    Bribery... everything starts and boils down to this.. one basic difference between so called developed countries and everybody else is amount of corruption, and at what levels..
    Its not true that there is corruption in these countries which are more prosperous... but the amount of corruption is much less.. and much less at the lower level, you can hardly find a constable taking bribe to waive speeding..
    I feel really bad how we treat our constables and how we take care of them. Rs.5000 salary for 15 yrs! .30 rifle made in 1800s, i've used better rifles in NCC trainings and competitions... there is no dignity , no respect and above all no money!!!!!!
    We really need to develop from bottom up. And as you said, exactly.. it needs to start from you and me! But the need now is more than just you and me doing, but also spreading this sense of responsibilities to as many people as we can..

    Huh!... Its heart breaking.

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