Tweet
Originally posted by The Templar
Hinduism is a pretty good religion in that, at its best, it creates a space where different religious ideas can blend and be assimilated. Whereas Christianity and Islam insist on conversion and being absolute over all comers. Granted, the Hindu Nationalist Party represent the jackass wing of Hinduism. They are to India what the Southern Evangelicals are to the US - orthodox and parochial in outlook.
And every society has its caste system - rooted in the twin pulls of status hierarchy and nepotism that go with being primates. The Indian system has been becoming more fluid over the years, while the US's has been solidifying.
Solidification of a hierarchy is the surest sign of a fall. It is the upper class pulling up the ladder in order to defend their position against those who seek to achive higher status via merit. We in the US are doing our damnedest to turn the country into Brazil (a small over class and a vast under class). The barriers to entry into the overclass become so high that it is hopeless to even attempt to overcome them. Most of the Indian students I know are on the rise. Most of the American students I know are just trying to maintain the class status in which they grew up.
Hinduism is a pretty good religion in that, at its best, it creates a space where different religious ideas can blend and be assimilated. Whereas Christianity and Islam insist on conversion and being absolute over all comers. Granted, the Hindu Nationalist Party represent the jackass wing of Hinduism. They are to India what the Southern Evangelicals are to the US - orthodox and parochial in outlook.
And every society has its caste system - rooted in the twin pulls of status hierarchy and nepotism that go with being primates. The Indian system has been becoming more fluid over the years, while the US's has been solidifying.
Solidification of a hierarchy is the surest sign of a fall. It is the upper class pulling up the ladder in order to defend their position against those who seek to achive higher status via merit. We in the US are doing our damnedest to turn the country into Brazil (a small over class and a vast under class). The barriers to entry into the overclass become so high that it is hopeless to even attempt to overcome them. Most of the Indian students I know are on the rise. Most of the American students I know are just trying to maintain the class status in which they grew up.
Comment