I was reading some online news about protests in the US against steel made in India and advocating using “only” those things which are American.I could not help but laugh at the thought of this… if overnight something of this sort happens, then most people in the US would run around “almost” naked, with “almost” no software to use, with “almost” no customer care, with “almost” no electronics and huge reduction in the number of vehicles… oh but where would they get the fuel to run the vehicles? well.. sorry about that !!! Add vehicles that do not have any gas to run…

While I agree to the thought that a nation’s and its people’s interest should be kept in mind when you are outsourcing or buying, I feel the “barter” system is something that we have lived with for ages… someone somewhere has a different skill and someone here has a different one.. both utilize it for a mutual benefit !!!

I have also been thinking that people who went on spending money like crazy, when they did not have any to pay up their credit card bills, must be the people who have played an important role in companies going bankrupt by purchasing dieing financial firms and dead assets… (Correct me someone if I am wrong here) and who gets thrown out first? The people who come from outside and save like crazy (another extreme, and I fail to understand why suddenly most desi’s talk about how much they are able to save when they are in US; sorry digressing from the topic)

umm.. but that was it, I guess about the “America use only American” point of view…

Our second point on today’s discussion is the Lok Sabha Elections… I am hoping and wishing and sincerely hoping and wishing that the people who had stood up for a cause after the Bombay Incident make a difference in these Lok Sabha Elections !!! AMEN to that ! this is a wonderful opportunity to bring the change a lot of us started to talk about !

I hope we elect people who

– can make a difference in the country like Shiela Dikshit made to Delhi in the last few years (I personally feel that Delhi has changed from what it was 10 years ago, for both good and bad, but mostly good)

– can make a difference in the country like Lalu did to Indian Railways (I can see and feel the difference in IR which has happened in recent past, mostly because of improved audit mechanisms and accountability and privatization playing and important role)

– can lead the nation and bring it on top like Mayawati did to her party in the last assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh (The BSP won the elections single handedly in UP, with Mayawati leading the pack and playing her cards very carefully. While she has always and continues to advocate the lower casts fiercely, she made sure that her candidates were a right mix from all communities)

– focus on what is the USP of the country like governments did in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttaranchal (These three states I feel have understood that tourism is the key for them when it comes to revenue and the efforts to promote tourism are more than obvious… The lovely roads in these states, the availability of information, and a slight change in the attitude is something that you can notice if you have been visiting for a while)

I feel we have to move ahead of the manifestos that focus more on luring people to vote for a party instead of value they add to the country, move ahead of religion and see the country as one unit, focus on sustainability and ……………….. sorry… enough of this…

Oh and I just recalled… there were two major campaigns the Lead India and Teach India… can someone help me know what happened to them… I am not aware of the current status… I know a few friends did register in the Teach India campaign but not sure what happened from there…