I loved the ending of Roman Polanski's Fearless Vampire Killers - Little did the professor realize that he was carrying away the very evil he had come to destroy.
A few minutes of watching our 24x7 channels on Hazare and the fight against corruption gave me a severe headache. It is as if one has been bombarded by nothing but the Fox News. Am I becoming right-winger? I find the current crusade to be somewhat similarly simplistic to the US Tea Party movement.
People and broadcasters screaming for some people to be jailed for various scams. It probably wouldn't even matter if the people punished were just remotely associated with the scams as long as the punishment is severe and quick. Blood is needed to make it seem that something is being done! (There is a lovely scene in Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka about the state of Russia - "Mass trials were very successful. There are now fewer but better Russians.")
I had sympathized with the JP Narayan movement though I wasn't in India. Should we call that movement idealistic or simplistic? Anyway, it was followed by emergency and Indira Gandhi deserves the credit for bringing democracy back.
I do not think parties win elections by money power though the parties certainly can't win without money. Hazare was saying that he doesn't take any money but spreads his word walking around Maharashtra. I recall my father telling me about a comment by Sarojini Naidu about Mahatma Gandhi and G D Birla - it costs quite a bit of money to keep Gandhi poor.
Instead of having a powerful anti-corruption enforcement authority why not search for transparent funding mechanisms which ensure better people in politics. Pretending that money is evil or not needed ensures the same results as the ending of the Fearless Vampire Killers.
A few minutes of watching our 24x7 channels on Hazare and the fight against corruption gave me a severe headache. It is as if one has been bombarded by nothing but the Fox News. Am I becoming right-winger? I find the current crusade to be somewhat similarly simplistic to the US Tea Party movement.
People and broadcasters screaming for some people to be jailed for various scams. It probably wouldn't even matter if the people punished were just remotely associated with the scams as long as the punishment is severe and quick. Blood is needed to make it seem that something is being done! (There is a lovely scene in Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka about the state of Russia - "Mass trials were very successful. There are now fewer but better Russians.")
I had sympathized with the JP Narayan movement though I wasn't in India. Should we call that movement idealistic or simplistic? Anyway, it was followed by emergency and Indira Gandhi deserves the credit for bringing democracy back.
I do not think parties win elections by money power though the parties certainly can't win without money. Hazare was saying that he doesn't take any money but spreads his word walking around Maharashtra. I recall my father telling me about a comment by Sarojini Naidu about Mahatma Gandhi and G D Birla - it costs quite a bit of money to keep Gandhi poor.
Instead of having a powerful anti-corruption enforcement authority why not search for transparent funding mechanisms which ensure better people in politics. Pretending that money is evil or not needed ensures the same results as the ending of the Fearless Vampire Killers.
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