I have a dream that I wake up every morning to the sound of birds chirping, especially the sparrow because the Earth is green again, the water is recycled, it’s heated by a solar panel and I don’t pay the government anything for electricity. I have a dream that as I switch on the television, the news is inspirational, the debate is healthy, the anchor courteous, opinions respected. I have a dream that I drive an electric car, that has no “horn” as it’s an obsolete noise maker, and everyone follows the traffic rules, the faces are not scrunched into a scowl and they aren’t hurling abuses. I have a dream that accidents happen rarely and medical help is available quickly, so only those whose time has come die and no one’s death is preponed.
I have a dream that politics is classified as social work and elections are fought over social media without spending a single rupee, candidates are smart, and from a varied gene pool. I have a dream that wealth returns to my country where it was created and it isn’t stashed elsewhere, that the definition of BPL changes to Base Prosperity Limit and the scale of wealth is Super rich, Somewhat rich, and Rich. I have a dream that it’s illegal to ask one’s religion and everyone follows the uniform civil code, the places of worship are open 24/7 for anyone to go in and pray. I have a dream that education is free and all knowledge is available to everyone, that every child can learn at their pace, that teachers are paid the most since they get a whole new generation ready to inherit the world, that everyone has to teach one day of the week irrespective of how busy they are.
I have a dream that every school teaches Yoga and it’s compulsory to play for a couple of hours even in college, that people who take to sports and represent India at the olympics or other multinational sports events, get a healthy stipend so they can pursue their passion and play well. I have a dream that there are sports facilities within easy reach of every person and the facilities are free. I have a dream that justice is swift and a criminal cannot escape, that the spirit of the law is delivered and not just the letter of the law, that justice is also perceived as justice delivered. I have a dream that women can walk around in any dress, at any time of the day or night, and they are safe, that we forget words like “rape”, “molestation”, “sexual abuse”. I have a dream that every child is taught how to cook, how to clean and about dignity of labour, and there are no cleaners and sweepers, “safai karamcharis” anywhere because everyone cleans their own house, the schools and public places and keeping India clean is everyone’s job.
I have a dream that every Indian serves in the armed forces for three years of their adult life before moving out to their choice of profession, that soldiers are paid well, that every career soldier gets skilled and educated for life after completion of service, that retired armed forces leaders form the advisory council for the defence minister. I have a dream that we spend nothing on defence armaments and technology helps us defend our borders, that we teach about “terrorism” in our history books, just like we teach about the wars !
I have a dream that am truly free and live like a human being, that food is plenty and I don’t have to kill to eat, that I live in a rainbow world and not a dull monochrome world, that technology breaks down walls of language and distance, that plastic is broken down into its earthly elements, that we don’t inhale smog and our lungs find enough oxygen, that I can dance in the rain and drink water from the river, that we live in harmony with Nature and never conquer her…
Utopian dream ? But why not ? All of the above is within the realm of the possible, if enough of us dream of it and enough of us want it. After all, it’s our country, our world, our child, our Earth – when we can create enough smoke by cutting down the trees, that oxygen gets bottled, we can also reverse the process and plant enough trees to produce free oxygen. When we can pollute our rivers and lakes enough that we can’t drink the water even after purifying it several times, we can stop polluting the water sources and make the water pure once again. When we can be dumb and build up a pile of arms to defend our borders, we can also pile up on tables and intelligently debate and resolve issues. When we can discriminate basis colour, we can also celebrate the rainbow hues. These are not utopian dreams, they just need enough dreamers to make them real.
So c’mon dream together and make it happen !
Your vision is consistent with mine in many ways, but I keep returning to the question of “How will this be accomplished?” It leads me to think of the difference is between personal and delegated power. In other words, those who depend on (and pay) leaders to effect social change are delegating their personal power to others, who often mis-use it. They then become disgruntled when the so-called leaders don’t perform as desired.
Those who rely on personal power, taking maximum responsibility for their lives within the context of their communities, are not easily controlled and are better able to collaborate in shared goals. In this way, there is room for each participant’s unique strengths and interests, in a kind of communal capitalism where overhead is shared to reduce costs for each individual.
If we want to see humanity make true progress, we will make it profitable to clean up, recycle, and repurpose the waste. New technology is beginning to do that, such as the power plant in Germany that is burning trash for energy, or the Subaru plant in Ohio that is tapping methane from landfill for energy.
The concept of rich vs. poor is flawed, because it puts too much emphasis on financial status as a measure of personal worth. You can’t have rich without having poor, but isn’t the real purpose to have enough to take care of basic needs and a few amenities? How insecure must the rich be about their wealth, to feel the need to hoard, and to constantly fear having that wealth stolen or dissipated? Look at the fear generated by the unstable currencies around the world, yet presumably those invested in the stock market have no immediate use for their money.
Incidentally, it occurs to me that golf carts are electric vehicles. Perhaps congested cities could consider them as alternatives. Also, I wouldn’t mind seeing more people on horses, or riding in carriages behind them.
I’ve also been thinking of the age-old imbalance between the sexes and relating it to the traditional idea of Father Sun and Mother Earth. In the US we have disrespected Mother Earth to an extreme degree, in the vain attempt to “conquer.” What folly this is, and now we are seeing that Mother Earth merely needs to shrug her shoulders, generating storms and earthquakes, to eliminate the undeserving parasites humanity has devolved into.
KCO
Agree with everything you said Katherine. Better than horses and horse carriages – just use the bicylce. Keep fit and keep Mother Earth fit too :). Bicycling can be made the primary means of transport especially to nearby places.
Except when it rains, or if you have lots of things to carry. I wish the US had better passenger rail. Our system used to be so much better, but it has given way to the private auto, which isolates people and makes them lonely. Public transportation is more fun, I believe, and does wonders for bringing diverse groups of people together.
Yes. Public transport makes enormous sense. Can’t imagine the pollution levels in Delhi if the metro rail service was not available. It’s already amongst the most polluted cities in the world.
I dream of an India, where no individual who has a court case against him is allowed to compete in any sort of elections till the case is decided in his favour.
I have a dream for India, wherein there is fast track judicial system exclusively designed for politicians which is given a maximum time of one year to finally decide on cases referred to them one way or the other.
I also dream of a large Central Prison for Politicians where the likes of Lallos, Jayalalithaa, Raja etc., could be permanently consigned to.
Awesome dreams Colonel !!. Wish they all come true.