In Polite Company

We are all taught that one should not bring up religion or politics in polite company.  It is simply not done.  After all, you do not want to offend the other person.  I get it, but find it amusing none the less.  There are a few reasons for my amusement.

First, why does the other person get offended?  Has the individual not thought about their beliefs and values and is therefore shocked when someone suggests disagreement with them?  Second, when religion and political views are used so often to defend actions, policies, or decisions which impact everyone, why should these topics be outside the purview of any group discussion.  If everyone practiced their religion and politics inside their homes privately, then I would not have an issue if it was improper to discuss.  But it is not, and so I am challenging the very notion.  These things matter, and we do not help by making them taboo.

In the posts to come, I hope to put forth some of my thoughts and views on what I consider to be important topics.  As you can guess, religion and politics are two of the main ones.  Others are hinted at in the header image at the top: Energy (and Energy Policy), Science and Technology, Vegetarianism, and National Security.  

I started writing this blog some time back, but I am going to attempt writing more frequently this year, so this is a start of sorts.  To help with that of course, I am fortunate to have a very talented graphic designer by way of my wife help.  She has designed the header and I think you will agree that it is quite spectacular.  Hopefully the quality of this blog will be on par with the quality of her work.  

I sometimes feel a blog is a narcissistic pursuit.  Why should anyone care what you have to say through a medium that does not allow for a discussion?  I am hoping that is where your comments come in.  For me they are going to be one of the primary enjoyments of this blog.  I look forward to reading and responding to your comments and have that be the channel for a healthy discussion.  I also invite any of you to post on this blog if you wish.  Together, we can explore the most advance and perhaps odd species to walk this Earth - The Inscrutable Humans.

The Royal Pardon

USA Today

Its the holidays again, at least for the two cultures I am intimately familiar with (Indian and American).  With Diwali falling so close to Thanksgiving, it truly does feel like the holidays.  But I digress.

Thanksgiving is perhaps the true All-American holiday.  Now yes, the Canadians celebrate it too, but we all know they just copied it.  One of the central traditions of this holiday of course is the turkey.  A large, rather unattractive, bird that it turns out is not particularly delicious.  Now I of course have never had it but that is what I hear.  The stats do indicate that too however.  It is estimated that about 21% of turkeys were consumed on Thanksgiving (The National Turkey Federation - yes there really is such a thing).  Add 10% on Christmas and another 10% on Easter, and a good 40% is consumed over 4-5 days!  If this bird was so good, surely it would be consumed a lot more the rest of the year (compare 2.5 million tons of turkey consumed in 2011 in the US vs. over 14 million tons of chicken).  Okay, but that is not entirely the point of this post.

Along with eating turkey, another time honored American tradition is the national pardoning of a chosen turkey.  On Tuesday, President Obama pardoned two turkeys who will have the rare privilege of living out a full life (Obama pardons Cobbler - BBC).  I find such a tradition comical and another classic example of hypocrisies and of course, the inscrutable human.  The National Turkey Federation, presents the President with these turkeys all while promoting the slaughter of some 250 million others!  Everyone involved recognizes how lucky the chosen bird is while completely forgetting that the "luck" of another bird is equally in their hands.  For some so-called tradition (and I am all for traditions), we go about causing unnecessary suffering and death.  And as the pardoning charade shows, everyone appreciates the suffering and death.  But once again, this country will turn a blind eye to the 45,999,998 turkeys that will die and end up on people's plates tonight.

A New Year's Resolution

I have made a New Year's resolution that has managed to turn a few heads. I am going to turn vegan. Yes, this means no dairy or eggs. Actually it means no animal products. I guess its best to first explain why. As you may know, I am a vegetarian, and have been all my life. I have never had meat (including seafood) and plan on keeping it that way for life. My parents raised me this way but I have continued because I strongly believe in animal rights and the prevention of cruelty to animals (this is easily the topic of another much longer blog). So it has always bothered me that I continue to support the cruelty that exists in our modern dairy and poultry farms. Though I purchase organic milk and so eggs from so called free-range cage free hens, surely putting these animals through industrial production cannot be good. So the only alternative is to stop buying and eating animal products. Thus the resolution. Thus the veganism.

What I have found funniest in these last few days is the number of times I have been asked with great amazement, "What are you going to eat?!?!" And this too from vegetarian friends. Surely like me they have often received the same question from die-hard carnivores. And like me I am sure they have smiled to themselves and thought, "oh little do you know." How then can they ask the same question when they have answered it themselves all their lives?

Now, the question is a little more apt from my wife actually. You see, the biggest problem with this resolution of mine is that I love (and I mean LOVE) butter, ghee, cheese, and ghee. I am of the opinion that you can never have enough cheese on something and that everything tastes better with ghee. I have heard carnivores wax poetic about bacon, but I am sure it has nothing on shudh, homemade ghee (and homemade butter, especially from buffalo milk). I have often wondered if I can request two toppings of extra cheese on a pizza. So, my wife's concern is valid. I am not sure how I am going to make it. But I am going to try. Hopefully I will last at least one month. Wish me luck. And remember, I am in Texas...