American Terror: An unfinished opera

Act 1: Exposition

 

In this act, the three main characters are introduced and described.

 

1. Unhappy people: Mostly rural population that is unhappy because of a variety of reasons. One is the changing character of the country; it is not mostly white Christian country any more. The other is disappearing jobs. Manufacturing is moving to China; coal is not in demand any more, the Mexicans are taking over menial jobs. The old life is disappearing, and they desperately yearn for good old America. 

 

2. Social Media: A new way of communicating has emerged. There are multiple platforms that comprise Social Media: FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, and so on. They provide a legitimate service by connecting billions of people worldwide, and bringing them news and entertainment However, they are also misused by those with malice in mind or have an alternate view of reality. These are addictive platforms, and what gets posted is quite believable.

 

3. Donald Trump: A low life narcissist who has mastered the skill of sounding very believable. He has inherited money and run several businesses with utter ruthlessness. 

 

Act 2: Development

 

In this act, the three characters interact among themselves, forming alliances and creating conflicts.

 

Donald Trump finds out that there are a large number of Unhappy People. He crafts a message that offers them salvation. Using his oratory skills, he convinces sufficient number of Unhappy People that he should be President of United States. He wins.

 

Donald Trump discovers the power of Social Media. He uses one form of Social Media, Twitter, as his megaphone and uses it to reach Unhappy People. He could say whatever he feels like, truth be damned. Since whatever comes through on these Social Media channels is believable, the Unhappy People lap it up. 

 

Several Unhappy People start creating an alternate universe that would explain to them and their cohorts why they are failing in spite of their birth right to succeed. They create conspiracy theories and put them on Social Media. Since anything on Social Media is believable, Unhappy People lap up these theories. 

 

Donald Trump discovers the power of alternate universe and conspiracy theories. Now he does not have to work hard to keep Unhappy People in his fold. He can find scapegoats for anything that does not work. Any negative reporting is attributed to horribly biased media. Every pain that Unhappy People are feeling can be blamed on Democrats, social liberals, Chinese or Mexicans. Almost all of the communication is done using Social Media. How convenient?

 

The conspiracy theorists use Social Media to weave theories on how Donald Trump is the savior that is god sent to save the Unhappy People from the others. Since everything on Social Media is believable, Unhappy People lap it up. 

 

Unfortunately, reality intervenes. The savior is soundly defeated in elections. How can that be, ask Unhappy People? Donald Trump is supposed to rule for ever. Donald Trump uses Social Media to confirm their suspicion. His defeat cannot be true. The election was stolen by Democrats, social liberals, and helped by media (and black and brown people).

 

Unhappy People become even more unhappy. The get angry. They want to do something about it. Donald Trump uses Social Media to foment anger. Things come to head on January 6^th when the US Congress convenes to officially deliver their savior, Donald Trump, a defeat. 

 

This cannot be allowed to happen, say Unhappy People. They storm the Capitol where the dastardly act was happening, Bastille style. After many hours, they are turned back, but not before they have caused damage, terrorized elected representatives, and infuriated the rest of the population. 

 

Act 3: Recapitulation

 

In this act, the conflicts start resolving but are not resolved.

 

Donald Trump’s defeat is confirmed and certified. He is out of office and impeached. His access to Social Media is cut off. The Social Media also takes steps to contain conspiracy theorists. However, the Unhappy People remain unhappy. They remain defiant and have promised a continuation of their movement. 

 

The opera is unfinished. 

 

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Note: A common structure for a movement in symphony is called “Sonata Form.” It has four parts. In the first part, exposition, two themes are presented, followed by the development part in which themes interact with each other causing conflicts. These conflicts are resolved in the recapitulation part, and finally a coda closes off the movement. I have taken liberty to use this as a way of explaining what is happening in America at the moment. I have called it an opera instead of a movement in symphony, so themes become characters. Also, instead of four movements, this one has three…the closing has not happened. It is an unfinished opera.

 

It is hard to predict how this opera will end. Like a scene from Romeo and Juliette, when the two feuding families Montague and Capulets reconcile after death of the lovers, the crisis has prompted some form of reconciliation among Democrats and Republicans. Will that be enough?

  

Irresponsibility during Covid times

As I write this Blog Post, the daily number of new Covid cases in US has remained close to 200,000 and deaths have surpassed 340,000. If you look at the maps of new cases and listen to the health officials, there is no doubt that travel and gatherings for Thanksgiving contributed to the latest surge. CDC continues to urge folks to follow three simple guidelines: (1) Do not travel, (2) wear a mask when outside, and (3) avoid large gatherings of friends and family. 

 

Did we learn those lessons after the Thanksgiving surge? Hell no. Just look at the images of millions of people at the airport during Christmas time, carrying about as if the Corona Crisis has passed. 

 

So, what is going to happen now? Yet another bump on the top of the recent surge. More deaths, more lockdowns, more businesses bankrupt, and additional untold misery. 

 

I am angry, and I don’t lose my temper that easily. 

 

If you ask people why they travelled, knowing what havoc it is likely to cause in January, they will all have a convincing answer.

 

We took all the precautions. Yes, I am sure you did but there is no question that you exposed yourself more than if you had obeyed the guideline and stayed home. Combine your action with that with all the other travelers and you will be a contributor to the inevitable next surge. 

 

We had to see our friends, and family members.  What exactly is “had to”? Couldn’t it wait? If the friend or family member was in deathbed, it is one thing, but I bet that was not the case (in most instances).

 

It is a tradition in our family to have a big meal. Is it also a tradition to infect your grandma and grandpa?

 

Don’t single us out, we did what lots of others did. This reminds me of the Tragedy of the Common in which eachperson allowed his cow to graze with no control, saying that the other person was doing that. The result? No grass was left and every cow starved. 

 

We did not know that our action would cause a surge in cases. Yes, you did. There was the Thanksgiving bump to tell you what would happen if people didn’t listen to health officials.  

 

We are tired of being cooped up.  Sure, you are but don’t you think we are too? A medical doctor put it, “if you are tired, put yourself in our shoes, working without a break day and night.”

 

Of course, we are a country where no one can tell the others what to do. In some places, staying home means staying home. If you are under quarantine, your phone is tracked and if it goes outside your home, someone pays a visit. If you are not home, you pay a huge fine. That country is Taiwan which has hardly had any deaths. Can we do something like that in US? Not a chance. We can’t even tell people to wear masks. 

 

When individualism becomes irresponsible, we all pay a price. I hope that we begin the new year with that realization and pay more attention the society instead of just ourselves.

 

 

  

Why can't we stop showing off?

 Recently the Editor of Classical music at New York Times  “posed a deceptively simple question to their writers and editors, as well as some artists they admire: What are the five minutes or so — longer than a moment, shorter than a symphony — that you’d play for a friend to convince them to fall in love with classical music?” He got great response and the results were published in NY times with links to music they selected. 

 

I started listening to the pieces selected and how they were described by these eminent experts. I could not but think that they were more interested in showing off how much they knew and what connoisseurs they were instead of helping their audience “fall in love with classical music.” That or they are incapable of going down from their high perch to the level of a person who is trying to get into classical music.

 

Here instance, here is what one expert said, I kid you not. 

 

“XXXXX’s  “YYYYY,” for two violins and orchestra, is a wonderful distillation of his processes. There is a clear pulse, moving through a series of chords, each lasting just a few seconds. Each chord feels like it’s finding repose from the previous one, creating a sense of release without feeling repetitive. On top of this, two violins play politely interlocking canons and patterns. A minute before the end, he lands on a sort of jazzed-up F-major chord, which, after a brief move to a minor key, resolves itself back into F — a moment of deep structural satisfaction.”

 

Unless you are yourself an expert at classical music, not a person tipping his/her toe, you would not be able to make head or tail out of what he is saying. Why would he select a totally obscure piece to make people fall in love with the classical music and why would he explain his selection like that? 

 

However, the best one of the series is the following:

 

“You can’t listen to a recording of it, and the many YouTube renditions won’t give you a sense of what it really is. Instead, like all great musical works, “4’33”,” John Cage’s three movements of silence, must be experienced live in concert, where the transient energy and the perception of time becomes a collective and individualized event. The accidental and unintentional sounds of everyday life, from coughs to faraway sirens to the hum of an air conditioner, become the piece itself. A strong reaction is guaranteed — perhaps, like it did for me, it will awaken a sense of the still untapped potential in classical music.”

 

I found a YouTube version of it and as the critic says, there is nothing but silence. The conductor waves his baton and the musicians just sit there doing nothing. Is this a joke? What BS is the writer saying? Is this the way NY Times is going to convert people to appreciate classical music?

 

I can draw parallel to a wine connoisseur trying to get a friend interested in wines. “Here I have selected (an obscure) wine from (an obscure) vineyard. It is vintage (very old) because in sipping it you will feel the release of vanilla which is asserting itself over nutmeg, which can’t resist the pull of lime with a hint of chocolate, all the while pepper is trying to rise above the din and saturate the nose.” 

 

You get what I am saying. Does this expert give a damn about teaching his friend about wines? Hell no. He just wants to show off what an expert he is, or as I said before, cannot put himself in the shoes of his friend. 

 

I remember when I used to present papers at conferences, I said one time, “I am going to show you one equation in my presentation…Afterall I have a PhD.” The audience applauded, because I followed a professor who could not resist showing off his intellect through massive number of equations to an audience that was just trying to understand the basics. 

 

I am no saint. I am sure there are situations when I am tempted to show off but I hope I am not being as blind to the audience as the folks mentioned above.

 

Afterall, what will I gain by showing off?

 

The Ballot

 My mail-in ballot has arrived. Now I can participate in a historic election without having to wait until November 3^rd and waiting in line at a polling booth, which is what I have done in the past elections.

 

The ballot is not just a simple document listing choice for President and Vice President, but five pages of multiple people and items to be voted on. This is the participative democracy in action.

 

I skip pages 1-4 in my first reading of the ballot and go to Page 5, the most important one. I am given a choice to select not just between the two well-known opponents in the Presidential election but among several. Standing in the election are the Republican and Democratic candidates, but also those from The Green party, The Libertarian Party, The Peace and Freedom Party, and The American Independent party. The last pair intrigues me; the candidate Roque “Rocky” de La Fuente Guerra for President and Kanye West as Vice President. Just imagine they getting elected. Then, if something were to happen to Rocky, Kanye West would be our President and Kim Kardashian, the first lady. Wouldn’t that be interesting? On the other hand, when I think about it, that wouldn’t be worse than the current situation. May be even better.

 

Next, I start from the front of the ballot. The choices are neatly arranged according to levels---City/Local, County, and State. Being new to this area, I know almost nothing about most of the candidates in City/Local level except for our Congressman. The representative of the 28^th district is none other than Adam Schiff. In addition to him, I can claim some familiarity with our mayor. He knocked on our door a few months ago, soliciting our vote. However, I know next to nothing about the candidates who are standing for the State Senate and State Assembly. 

 

Things get more complex when I come to the County candidates. I need to vote for District Attorney, and three judges for the superior court. Yes, I have seen ads on TV. If I vote for one of the DA candidates, I am told that hell will break lose. There will be riots on the street and the attorney will do nothing. She is supposed to be the meanest person on earth. No such ads for the judges. 

 

Now wait. A few days ago, I had received a thick packet from the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (whoever that is) with candidate statements & measures. When I read about the candidates, they all promise to work for me and assure that heaven on earth will be created by their tireless activities. 

 

Intermingled with the candidates are “measures” on which voters are supposed to vote as “for” or “against” each measure. Californians are experts at introducing measures. This time, we have two measures at the city/local level, one at the county level, and twelve at the state level. Yes, twelve. They are literally all over the map, from County measure “J” --- Community investment and alternatives to incarceration minimum county budget allocation --- to State Measure 24 which seeks to amend consumer privacy laws, initiative statute. 

 

I have a choice to vote yes for all measures, or no, and be a bad citizen, or read up on each one--what it is about, and make an educated choice. The packet that arrived before the ballot has the full text of ballot measures and pro and con arguments. The full text of Measure “O” runs to more than eight pages of double column densely packed information. Besides some bureaucrat saying that “we informed citizens about what the measure was all about,” and thereby reduce the likelihood of being sued by the defeated party, I don’t see what purpose the descriptions serve. I may not have time to read them or ability to comprehend.  

 

Of course, once again, I can watch the TV ads. One projects of images of patients who claim that they all will die if a specific measure is passed. An ad for another measure mentions that untold hardship awaits a huge segment of the society if that one is not given the nod. 

 

I wonder what is wrong with this picture. 

 

How will an average citizen be able to weigh pros and cons of each proposition and decide what is good for the society? Most of them will have the “other” side, increasing deficit, or bringing hardship to some segment of the society while benefiting others.  Don’t we elect representatives to make tough decisions such as those presented by these measures? What is their job? To get elected and then worry about re-election? 

 

Also, I am, or should be, familiar with some of the local and state representatives, but how will I know the rest? As I mentioned, some of them have provided statements in the packet that I got. Are those sufficient for me to make an informed selection? Or, should I rely on the TV spots where each one gets trashed? 

 

I am a fairly educated and experiences voter, and I am having a hard time filling this ballot conscientiously. What will happen to my less educated or informed fellow citizens? Yes, a participative democracy is the best form of government, but how effectively and efficiently is it functioning?

Being grateful

 We move to a Pasadena in California towards the end of last year. Our objective is to establish ourselves in this new place after decades of living in Massachusetts. That includes getting to know people, participating in local events, and enjoying what this lovely town has to offer. There is plenty in each category. Pasadena offers a well-run Senior Center, several health clubs, a very good library system, free lectures at Caltech, performances by Pasadena Symphony Orchestra, several gardens and parks with lots of green spaces, many non-profits where we can offer our services and make new friends, and the San Gabriel Mountains where we can hike to heart’s content. There is also an active restaurant scene with places to eat and drink. We quickly start making friends and get involved with all types of activities. We hike on nearby trails. 

 

Then Covid hits us. Almost everything is closed. No Senior Center, no symphony, no lectures to attend, no restaurants to go to. Worse, we can’t even develop the budding social relationships with our new friends. We are concerned that these friendships may get snuffed out under the load of Covid restrictions.

 

However, we are grateful that we haven’t contracted that dreadful disease unlike so many others, even some who we know.  As we are retired, we don’t have to be concerned about paychecks, or getting exposed to people we do not know. 

 

We are also grateful that after an initial period, we can begin our hiking. We can meet at least some of our friends as long as we maintain social distances. Also, our children become a part of our pod and so we can spend a lot of time with them.

 

Then one of the worst heatwaves hit us. The temperature goes soaring into 115-degree range. Hiking on exposed trails (that includes most of the trails around us) is impossible. Even our neighborhood walking is possible only during early morning or late evening. 

 

However, we are grateful that we have covered patios where we can sit and relax. Have a drink. Also, we do not have to work outdoors, unlike our gardener, señor Guadalupe, who comes every Wednesday and cuts grass even in those horrid temperatures. We meanwhile relax in our airconditioned house. 

 

Then comes the season of forest fires. One of the worst in California’s history. One major fire in the Los Angeles area is right in our backyard…in San Gabriel Mountains, where we go hiking. Tens of thousands of acres are already gone with no end in sight. The smoke from the fire has made our air quality quite poor and even dangerous. Now our daily walks have come to a stop. We can’t even sit outside for a drink or relax. 

 

However, we are grateful that our house is not under an imminent threat of catching fire (although we are ready to evacuate if the order to do so comes down). Also, neither of us has an underlying condition that would make the situation worse. We have hobbies and learning activities that keep us busy and can be performed indoors. We have lots of friends and family members who we can talk to and do FaceTime with. There are Zoom calls to participate in.

 

Most of all, we are grateful that we have each other, unlike single folks in our neighborhood who admit that they are going stir crazy. 

 

The fires will be extinguished. The heat wave will pass (it almost has), and Covid will eventually be managed. We will be grateful for having passed this test with relatively minor discomfort

Fifty years

 Last month I completed fifty years since I came to this country. As I passed this major milestone, it was time to look back and reflect.

 

I had not planned to settle here. I came to spend one year in graduate school, at most two, get a Master’s degree and go back to India. When I got my Master’s, I kept going until I earned a Doctorate in engineering. This time I was ready to go back and had, as a matter of fact, secured three job offers in India.

 

Then I had a fateful meeting with an interesting guy, a friend of a cousin living in India. He was a founder of a company that sold Digital Equipment’s computers in India, and he was on a business trip. I met him at a motel in Concord, MA and he suggested that I get some work experience in US before heading back. “It will be valuable and also get you started financially,” he said. 

 

I listened to him and secured a job with a company in Waltham, MA. I got a practical training visa that allowed me to work for eighteen months. When that period came to an end, greed had set in and I decided to apply for a Green Card. After getting it, I went to India, got married, and came back to US to work for maybe five more years.

 

Well, by now you can guess what happened next. Five years become ten and then, after children arrived, we decided to get citizenships and live here for good. We had joined the rank of immigrants to this land of the opportunity. We lived the American dream: a house in suburbia, good careers, two children (but no dog), and lots of travelling. 

 

My story as an immigrant was not based on escaping something unpleasant or brutal in my home country. In all likelihood, based on the experience of my classmates who never came to US or went back after studies, I would have had an equally good life in the motherland. It would have been a different life, but pleasant one nonetheless.

 

So, I cannot escape the feeling that I was an opportunist looking after my own interest and not that of the country of my birth. What did I get in return for making the decision to emigrate and carrying that guilt? 

 

Here are a few points that come to mind as I look back. Please treat them as personal views that reflect my interests and what is important to me, and not applicable to every immigrant in my situation. 

 

1. Wider exposure to people of the world

 

In my mind, there is no doubt that I have met more diverse people in the past fifty years in US than I would have if I had settled in India. It is not just meeting them but also becoming comfortable with the notion that people around the world are just like us, and thereby reducing the “them vs us” complex. I feel totally comfortable with men and women of practically any nationality or background. 

 

2.  Greater opportunity to travel

 

A direct corollary of the above, my intense desire to experience the world has been satisfied beyond my imagination. Some of it could have happened even if I had decided to live in India, but not to the same level. What I mean is not just seeing the world----checking off a bucket list---but experiencing it: Hiking and biking in all different places, setting our own itinerary and schedules, and meeting people to an extent not possible in packaged tours. All this has been fueled by  (i) our passion for travel and different cultures, (ii) developing confidence to travel just by ourselves, and  (iii) earning in dollars, not rupees. Finally, having an American and not an Indian passport has made a big difference in travelling internationally.  

 

3.  Easier to maintain physical fitness

 

One reason why we have been able to travel the way we have, and enjoy the outdoors, is that we have maintained a reasonable level of physical fitness. This country not only encourages you to remain fit, but enables you to do so. To that end, I got involved with hiking right from beginning, cross country skiing and skating soon afterwards, and recreation biking after I got married. Now, during the Covid time, we are able to walk four mile an average through nice green neighborhoods with practically no traffic. We can bike without fear of getting killed by a motorist. Ask my classmate to do that in India. Even if they want to, and most of them do, they will have a harder time.

 

4. Better learning opportunities

 

This is a tricky topic because it depends on what you want to learn. If you are on a spiritual journey, I cannot think of a better place than India to do so. Also, these days, with on-line learning generally available, anyone can participate. However, the desire to learn stems from being exposed to a topic and becoming interested. For me, Western Classical Music is one such area. I was exposed to it thanks to friends in my graduate school and attending free concerts on Charles River. That led to attending paid concerts, purchasing of records, and then buying courses from The Great Courses. I am very happy to have this opportunity. 

 

5. Better life for our children

 

This is the driving force for so many immigrants escaping terrible situation and I believe it to be true even for a person like me who had a comfortable life in India. There are several reasons for making this statement. First of all, education is less competitive in this country than in India. My son or daughter would have found it virtually impossible to get admitted to IIT (where I studied) given how slim the odds have become. Second, for someone aspiring for a career in arts, like my daughter, making a living would have been a struggle in India. Third, living on their own would have been very difficult for our children given how steep the cost of living/housing has become in major cities in India. 

 

6.  More meaningful retirement

 

This is again a controversial topic as my friends in India are enjoying their retirement quite well. The differences are (i) The availability of institutions like assisted living, nursing home, and hospice. This allows you to live independently even if your health deteriorates, as it will. In India it is assumed that your children will take care of you. If they cannot, you have to somehow manage. (ii) The availability of organizations targeted toward allowing retired people to live a meaningful next phase. For example, I am involved with an organization that provides free management consulting to non-profits using people like me. It is an enormously satisfying experience and keeps me involved with doing something useful for the society that has given me so much. (iii) Provisions for keeping physically impaired people mobile. Even if I end up in a wheelchair, I should be able to go about using public transportation and ramps that anticipate and accommodate people like that. (iv) Availability of “do not resuscitate” type of document for the end of life. This allows a family member or a physician to pull the plug without fear of legal problems when and if the time comes. 

 

So, in summary, no place is perfect and you can always find faults with whatever decision you make. The present situation would make many folks wonder about the direction this country is headed to. However, I remain pleased with the decision I made in that Motel in Concord forty-seven years ago, or to come this country three years before then.

 

Spelling

Although I write reasonably well (so they say), I am not a good speller. Maybe it is something in my brain, which has similar difficulties remembering phone numbers. Maybe it is a feeling that I have that spelling a word correctly is not that important. So what if you spell a word with one “s” instead of two or use “c” instead of an “s”? As long as the reader gets it, what difference does it make? Also, in these days and age where your spellings get corrected automatically, why waste time in learning how to spell?

In this I am somewhat of a contrarian, considering the success Indian Americans enjoy at the Spelling Bee competitions. Obviously, some parents think that spelling correctly is very important. I had my own run in with a niece of mine who called me out for spelling a word incorrectly on a FaceBook post. I was irritated because the post referred to some gorgeous photos I had taken and I never thought anyone would be hung up on spelling. 

Given my opinion about spelling, my initial reaction at Indians excelling in that area was ---why not excel at something that matters more in life than spelling? Although I have not moved from that position entirely, my thinking now is more nuanced. Having seen a recent documentary “Spelling the Dream” on Netflix helped me along.

Indians are not noted for physical prowess. In a country obsessed with success in sports this is a problem. You would almost never see an Indian athlete in any sport in US. Even in Olympics, the Indian performance is a disaster, winning hardly any medals while the athletes from another big Asian country rack up a hoard of medals. 

Indians, meanwhile, are very good at intellectual pursuits.  To make their children excel in studies is the primary goal of most Indian parents. So, for an Indian kid to be really good at anything in school, it has got to be intellectually oriented. Everyone wants to excel at something, it is human nature. No surprise then that Indians gravitate toward something like Spelling Bee where he/she can achieve high status. 

Another benefit that the participants in Spelling Bee get is that they get exposed to a vast number of words that otherwise they would not know about. That may help them communicate better…express a thought more accurately than before. To communicate well is so important that this skill can take them far in their professional and social worlds.

There is no intrinsic reason why Indian Americans dominate Spelling Bee competitions, and not, say, Chinese Americans. One possibility is that most Indian who emigrated to this country got their English education in the good old days when perfect grammar and spellings mattered. They take their way of learning a language and impose it on their children. Once the dominance in a competition is established, it is hard to break because others with the same background have role models to follow, and the cycle continues. So here we are.

Finally, I am delighted that there are competitions that reward intellectual prowess and not just athletic. The intellectuals deserve to be recognized far more than they currently are.  How many people know about Michael Jordan and how many Tim Berners-Lee? One was a great basketball player, the other changed the world by inventing the World Wide Web. It is about time our society recognizes intellectuals. In much the same way as athletes.