The habit of reading books got into me more than four decades ago through my father and elder brother, who are no more now. While in New Delhi in those days, for their reading pleasure, they bought some books, and regularly borrowed many from The British Council Library and The United States Information Service. Supplementing this there were books from Central Secretariat Library of which my father was a member, he being a Government official. They were mostly auto-biographies, biographies of eminent personalities, books on History and literature, and occasionally fiction.
I used to read them late in the nights and on Sundays after my studies. And yes, after them. Elders first were the unwritten rule and code!
In contrast, there is practically no competition to the usage of my personal computer, which I acquired in late 2000 just before my retirement from service. I planned this to spend time on it in my retired life. I learnt to operate it slowly. How I did it I narrated it in my blog- The way I learnt Computers- which I posted in July 2006.
In the euphoria of learning this new medium, and browsing the net for information, my book reading habit was on the wane. I found it difficult to balance my time between the two habits. Most of the time I succumbed to the temptation of viewing the world through the windows, and tried to assimilate as much information and knowledge my brain could take it at a stretch. I realized surfing the net slowly draws the mind away from focus on any one subject/topic. What are retained in the mind are only bits and pieces of information. May be it has undesirable and unwanted information, piles of them. But it is there for retrieval, and caters to the needs of netizens. The most popular attribute, however is the mail transmission, followed by chats and videos. The technological stride it has made over decades is amazing.
Despite this, I find reading a book turning its pages slowly, and float along with the author’s views most invigorating. This sense of belonging with the author is unparallel. One gets a feeling of togetherness. This is absent while reading the contents in link pages of a website, or for that matter of fact reading an e-book. There is an inexplicable strain to the eyes. Though the contents in the e-book and its print edition are the same, reading it online is a pain to the brain. Concentration is lacking and the focus is absent. I find the feeling is similar when comparison is made between a Landline and a Cell phone.
I guess I am a traditionalist. But the trends in the IT field are fast changing. I read the other day that e-Readers are becoming not only popular but attractive. This device displays the text of a book electronically on an LCD screen. It features a dictionary; buttons to flip the pages, slots to increase storage capacity etc., etc., In other words, one could download loads of titles of books. This storage device virtually replaces book shelves.
Added to this is the launching of online library by the European Union which will feature digital objects- films, photographs, paintings, sound files, maps etc., In other words it will be a digital library showcasing Europe’s cultural heritage online. Access to it is at www.europeana.eu/. This would certainly help anyone in the globe to visit libraries of other countries without actually going there.
This is admirable. Sitting at home, one could surf the website for seeking vast knowledge. This may facilitate disabled persons, like me, who cannot commute to the libraries. But others may curtail their visits to libraries, missing its wonderful ambience. With this technology gaining popularity and momentum in the coming decades, there could be reduction in publication of books in print mode. There would be fewer books for sale. If this were to come true, running a Bookstore would not be economical, and may eventually close down.
But that would be a pity! There would be fewer books in the bookshelves at home, and the study room would look bland.
I shudder to read that the e-content would eclipse traditional books by the next decade. Is it good? Not for me.
There is a news report In Austin American-Statesman of 21st November, 2008 that Bookstop, a bookstore in Central Austin would close by the year end. Is this the beginning of the trend?
Once I buy a book, it becomes my companion for life. Seeing collection of my books on shelves, not only showcase my reading habit, but enable my family members accessible to it. It would tempt others to get into the reading habit. Not the Computer when switched off and not connected to the net. It is definitely not tempting and attractive when in slumber mood.
Ever since Bush Administration assumed Power, America has been at the receiving end of criticism for many of the policy decisions coming from the white house. Right or wrong, decisions were taken as they deemed fit under circumstances that were prevailing then. Though 9/11 brought enormous sympathy for the American people, its government squandered that sympathy gradually.
With the passage of time, those decisions proved inappropriate, were resented within the country and outside. There was disenchantment with Bush Administration. But nothing deterred Bush, and every act of his had a touch of brazenness, and streaks of arrogance. The ground realities of the two wars that began in his term were the result of his decisions. As if these were not enough to tarnish his image, his bail out package to solve the financial crisis that engulfed the world financial markets, further distorted the image of entire America in the eyes of the world. Many wondered how a country that assumes itself as a superpower, could be so callous in managing its own economy and mess up with its financial systems.
In a nutshell, his governance during the two terms drove the country to pits. In financial terms, his administration turned the inheritance of a surplus budget from the previous regime into a deficit budget. And that is the gift he would pass it on to the new leadership of President-elect Barack Obama. It could be argued that democrats in the senate and the house have also contributed to this mess. But, in the parlance of governance, the leader is responsible for the mess. One likes it or not.
Future investigations would certainly expose the persons involved in the financial melt down. I am sure the American People and the World would want to know the truth.
The scenario in which USA finds itself prompted analysts of different countries to express their views about what went wrong?
In any type of governance, It is considered prudent to seek different views and arrive at one’ own view to get the right perspective of issues and take a decision. When things go wrong, it is better to introspect critically without prejudice and improve for the better.
An analyst Igor Bogdanov aired his views in RIA Novosti, a Russian News & Information Agency. It is a lengthy article and worth reading in entirety. His Article was published in THE HINDU India’s National Newspaper in its print edition dated November 3rd, 2008. It is available at:
However I copied and pasted that article here under for immediate reading.
Why the world dislikes America
Igor Bogdanov
The United States ought to become less anxious to change the world.
This is not the first time America has been accused of spreading an economic crisis worldwide
Globalisation spreads American mass culture with its inferior movies, conduct, manners and fast food
The world looks forward to Barak Obama’s presidency and will be bitter should John McCain win. The world is pinning its hopes on Mr. Obama. It expects him to change America. Meanwhile, America evokes a wide range of negative emotions in every continent — bitterness, irritation, scorn, hatred or, at least, sarcasm. Even those who think well of Americans speak of them with a smirk.
Will the world ever like them again? What should the United States do in order to be liked? How should its leadership and the nation change? Will the current crisis lead it toward the right conclusions? For an answer, you need to look at the roots of global anti-Americanism.
Crisis export
This is not the first time America has been accused of spreading an economic crisis worldwide. Look back to the summer of 1929. The world found the Americans too prosperous for their own good. Their money was a thorn in the world’s side. Many of the products they were exporting appeared to be innovations the world could do without. Autumn and winter 1929 came with a Wall Street crash. “Serves ’em right!” the world gloated. “They are exporting crisis!” it cried thereafter.
The world grew sympathetic with the bleak America of 1930-31 — with its Hunger Marches, soup- kitchens and street-fires to warm the homeless. Now America has another chance to win sympathy, though it is no longer the isolationist state with the smallest possible army it was at the start of the Dirty Thirties.
The best have it hottest
There was a superpower in the 19th century and up to the end of the Second World War. It was not America but Britain. The British Empire sprawled across five continents, taking up more than a third of the globe. It appeared implausible until the early 1940s that the empire could be hit even the slightest, let alone collapse.
Britons were admired, envied and disliked overtly or covertly. They were hated all the more for their extremely competent colonial management — and their racism. The empire made colour an all but insurmountable barrier between social estates, with every race living according to its own written and unwritten rules, though all were equal before the law. Britain was hated by the countries it colonised and by other colonisers — France, Holland and America.
The British Empire fell, and the prejudice gradually shifted to America.
Shining city
The Americans were never racists, though Afro-Americans in the U.S. faced insurmountable odds. But a superiority complex lies at the root of the American mentality and culture. America was from the beginning a New World for everyone to start from scratch when he fled the Old World with its preconceptions, social barriers and other age-old problems. America, “the shining city upon a hill,” thought it was called upon to set an example.
The majority of Americans still believes in the American Dream, which gives an impetus to the naïve conviction that American is best. When they failed to impose this conviction on others, it was met with a condescending smile. That was so before the U.S. turned into a superpower.
Anti-Americanism appeared with the first foreboding that Americanism would be imposed on other nations. Much of the world became anti-American by the end of the Second World War. Latin America was so by the end of the 19th century. The same can be said of old Cuba, the Philippines and other countries that were U.S. colonies for half a century. There, admiration for Uncle Sam went hand in hand with hatred.
A firm belief in American moral superiority justifies the neo-conservatives, who have had the say during the current presidency. Now they are suffering a moral setback while the financial crisis undermines American and global faith in the allegedly invincible economic concept of unlimited freedom of enterprise.
The concept of “the shining city,” however, still cements the multi-ethnic American community. It will hardly ever recede. Possibly, it will benefit America if it is no more a global superpower.
Anti-world
The U.S. has been from the start a land of immigrants, be they first-generation or tenth-generation. A population gathered from every part of the world gives it economic dynamism but is also a problem that whips up global anti-Americanism.
The problem takes root in the psychology of any immigrant community. People emigrate because they are unhappy in their own country. Many disagree not only with its government but also with a majority of the public.
Prejudice wears off with generations. Contemporary Americans of Italian ancestry hardly dislike the Berlusconi Cabinet or have anything against Italians in Italy. However, there are immigrant communities that make a dissident mosaic set against the rest of the world. These communities have an impact on the Administration and partly form public opinion. They influence U.S. foreign policy and so whip up anti-Americanism. Crisis or no crisis, this effect will remain part and parcel of American life for long.
Planting leaders
It has been America’s political custom to plant convenient national leaders all over the world. America does it on a greater scale than any other country, unblushingly. Not surprisingly, America has approached the status of the world’s only superpower with the strongest financial muscle. The 1990s saw this trend at its strongest.
King-making is an established American practice. There have been American puppets in many countries. The 1990s revealed a pattern in which the U.S. preferred national leaders who are weak and incompetent, and therefore obedient and dependent. This practice is a mighty instigator of global anti-Americanism. It will end if America can no longer afford such a policy, and the questionable leaders quit.
Big stick democracy
The Administration bases its foreign policy on the promotion of democracy and human rights. This boils down to political suicide. The idea is intrinsic to ideologised Americans, who believe in the “shining city.” But it inevitably leads to the U.S. bribing dissidents opposed to their own nation’s elites or authorities.
Dissidents usually snatch the opportunity to promote American values — and never mind that their propaganda exposes those values to hatred in their country. The logic is simple: a country that dares to set values and force them on others is fated to be disliked and hated, however excellent the values might be. So its local friends have support only from outside and entirely depend on the U.S. Anti-Americanism will dwindle if America gives up its Big Stick Democracy.
Other democracy
American public democracy differs from any other. The American ideology produces a sublimated version, so to say, of human equality. It stresses that lineage, education, ethnicity and so on do not matter in making one a full-fledged member of the community or a citizen of the world. As the American Dream has it, anyone can get rich, become President…
Such democracy brings unexpected fruits — it makes ordinary Americans conceited, and totally unlike, say, Western Europeans in terms of culture and education. Americans care little about the world around them and are not eager to know it; they are too sure America is better and stronger. This situation impacts elections and the choice of foreign policy, and compounds America’s problems. We can expect that the current crisis will make Americans see the world the way it really is, and gradually convince them to support a more rational foreign policy. That would enfeeble anti-Americanism.
Lifestyle
Globalisation spreads American mass culture with its inferior movies, conduct, manners, fast food… Mass culture has become the most lucrative American export. The less educated succumb to it the quickest.
We should not underestimate the resentment this promotion evokes in people from all walks and all sections of life. It can be assumed that the pressure of mass culture that is eroding the traditional culture was the root cause of the tragedy of 9/11.
What can change the American public? It has a chance to learn from the global crisis. It might change composition, with Anglo-Saxons losing priority to other people with other values. As a result, it might become less anxious to change the world. The world will change of itself — as we see now, globalisation may not only be European but also Asian, so American mass culture might lose its monopoly. When America becomes one of many key countries, it will no longer be pestered by unkind feelings of the world around.
—RIA Novosti
Well, the article published from behind the erstwhile Iron Curtain, and perhaps now a translucent curtain after the fall of Communism (Has it really fallen?), could be leftists view well articulated to portray their perception of certain traits and policies of other countries. Yet, the article does contain facts which cannot be ignored.
But then a view is a view which is certainly receiving the attention of the World and gaining wider acceptance. America’s credibility as a superpower has been dented beyond doubt.
At different fora of various group countries from G-7 to G-20, President-elect Barack Obama would be confronted with this picture of his Country that has transited from penumbra to umbra over a period. However there is a hope to get into bright light.
As in a Trade cycle, and so in economy of a country, there would be ups and downs. The path from nadir is to go towards zenith. That triggers the impetus.
Barack Obama’s victory has been well received by the educated in India, and the youth is especially exited. His books are fast selling, and there are many articles getting published in the media. An atmosphere of goodwill is slowly building up.
It is good to hear Obama saying his first priority is to Improve America’s economy. That could pave the way for improving its image.
It is a thumping victory for Sen. Barack Obama and he is all set to be the next President of U.S.A. This brings to a close all those acrimonious debates, discussions and anxiety across the globe. But the GREAT EXPECTATIONS of the Americans would loom large before him and the Democratic Party which has a majority in the senate and the house as well. Henceforth every move of theirs would be under scanner, and all their promises need to be fulfilled. That would be not only challenging but would be daunting. Let the leadership be not complacent.
Obama’s speech was rhetoric, inspiring and full of hope. He reiterated that together with American people- We can bring about change.
As my readers and fellow bloggers know that I am an Indian, live in Hyderabad, and have NO say in American elections. But I have an enormous interest in American people and admire their spirit of WE CAN. I am an admirer of Barack Obama. His Audacity of Hope has become true.
Frankly speaking, I did not like the media addressing leaders by their ethnic background. It smacks of discrimination and highlights the differentiation, which is really not necessary in any public context. After all Obama or McCain or any other leader are Americans first. This is not confined to America alone, but in India too such things are highlighted too often and then debated on it. It is just hypocrisy.
I always likened TEXAS to Adventure because of the cowboys. But in this election it was far from that image I had. I am aware it is a stronghold of the GOP, but to think away from the mainstream is an indication of averse to CHANGE.
I am reminded of a joke told to me by a Bengali Friend. He spent greater part of his life outside his home state of West Bengal, and finally chose to settle in Hyderabad. It was unlike of many Bengalis who love Kolkata and West Bengal as they pride in their intellectual skills. When asked why he preferred to settle in Hyderabad, he said- In the beginning, West Bengal use to think first, and India later, and now India thinks first and West Bengal never.
Does this logic apply to TEXAS?
At the outset, this US Presidential Elections would be remembered for a long time, not only for its history, but for its long duration of acrimonious debates over issues that were drifting America towards whirlpool.
I am hopeful the new leadership would steer the American Dream ship away from it towards a smooth and a pleasant sail.
I am 65 years old as of January 2010 and live in Hyderabad,India. An extrovert by nature with a positive outlook.I believe in doing things Systematically."Enjoy life" is my philosophy.I enjoy the company of my family,Friends and relatives.Reading books,posting blogs and exchanging views on diverse topics are some of my passions in my retired life.
My Youngest sister, a journalist,often inspires me to write articles.My wife,other family members, and friends are my critics.
