Lesson Number 2 :)

The previous post on Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness was the culmination of my thoughts at the 'first
look' of the USA. As my exposure to the US grew, I have been having a few more thoughts about what makes this country IT and what is the essence of the principles that make this country IT.

This time, the trigger was watching 'Lagaan' again (#commencement week lukkha :D). The scene that shook
my mind was the one where Amir Khan is lacking the 11th member of the team and Kachra, the crippled,
so called 'untouchable', amazes him so much by his 'spin bowling' that Amir fights with the entire village to have him on the team. So much for equality. So much for the dignity of an individual. So much for humanity.

When I see people in the USA, I see in their eyes and mind what I see in Bhuvan's eyes in this scene. They respect every individual for what he is and for what he is doing. May it be the Food truck in the university, the bus driver, the landlord of the house, the bankers or students. I feel my hand shaking even as I write these 'divisions' of labor. Because when I meet the bus driver as soon as I step outside the house, he/she greets me with a smile, and a "hello, how are you doing?" And I cannot not say Hello back. A small greeting is what it takes to establish a connection. Then come the Food truck wala and the landlord. My landlord texts me like my friends do (obviously not so often :P), the Truck wala chats with me about the weather, and so on. Just last week, I was chatting for about a half hour with the local Internet-pay-station-wala (and no, he wasn't hitting on me :D)

Why do these people seem to have the self-esteem and courage that so many of us do not have? Why does a menial labourer in India feel that he's doing us a service? Isn't he in fact, doing something for us that we cannot do ourselves? Why does everyone respect engineers and doctors so much but whines when their son/daughter says she wants to be a chef? The answer is the same - we consider that the brain is the mightiest and everything else is lower than that. But seriously, everyone is just doing their job. Everyone is doing what they can do best. Everyone has been endowed a responsibility by God, according to what they can fulfill. And isn't the world such a pretty place because of that? What if there wasn't the truck wala? What if there wasn't the local postman who danced with me and my Mom whenever a scholarship letter arrived? What if there weren't people in hospitals and aeroplanes and construction workers and so on?

Agreed, everyone has a different liking, a different brain, a different ability. But they all deserve the same respect. The same kindness. The same smile and the same treatment. I am highly impressed by this country for this and I feel we all owe them this lesson.