The anniversary of terrorist attacks on the World Trade centre came and went, with a few tears shed, and some flower wreaths, but a lot of talk. Now I must clarify here that I myself was deeply moved by the horrifying act of terrorism, and I condemn it wholeheartedly.
I got a lot of mails, with messages like, ‘let us remember the dead of 9/11 and vow that their sacrifice shall not go waste’, and ‘we stand united against terror’. And this one was priceless ‘America has been hurt once, and the wounded tiger roars, they’ll wipe off terrorism from the world. We are together in the fight against terrorism’.
What struck me was that the same people (who talk loudly of terrorism and 9/11) very conveniently forget the annual Flag Day, and might have a faint memory of the recent bombings of Mumbai local trains. Black Friday might not even ring a bell. I’d quote a bit misplaced but appropriate Hindi saying ‘ Ghar ki murgi dal barabar’, what we have at home has no value!! Why is it that 9/11 has had such an impact on our minds, than the frequent attacks we’ve faced, which affect our daily lives much more directly and profoundly? I guess the answer lies in the fact that America has very successfully ‘advertised’ it’s agony, while we have been the ones who are tormented, but silent. All of us read with rapt attention, about the proposed reconstruction of WTC, how many of us question whether a memorial for the Bombay blast victims exists or not?
A consumerist mindset, which we are a part of, dictates, ‘buy what seems best’, and the best is what is advertised best. Just because news at home is not as ‘in’ as the news in America, all the ostentatious intellectuals want to talk of 9/11. A pretty catchy term ‘9/11’, isn’t it? Well, it’s just a part of an organized sympathy gaining campaign, with which America wished to justify its acts in Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Our enthusiastic talk of 9/11 is a part of a bigger infatuation with all things American. Wake up, men and women of my motherland. I do not implore you to talk of a Indian problem, and stop talking of 9/11. I request you to take off those ‘Made in USA’ sunglasses, they are tinted and skewed. Moreover, I hope you do not just talk, but act as well.
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1 comment:
with you. In my office, ppl like to talk of US politics more than theirs which is what should concern them more and on which they can make a direct impact only if went and voted
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