30 years ago, the Democratic Party had stalwarts who cared about the country, it’s people, the image projected around the world and how the rest of the world perceived the US of A. People like John Kerry wore the “I’m a Democrat” badge with honor. Democrats around the country had a purpose; that of helping the country’s impoverished get representation in the nation’s capital. As a Democrat, even if a former Democrat, my impression of the party was that this party and its people could walk on water! They represented people from diverse backgrounds, not just the millionaires. Aah, those were the days, my friend!!
Over the past few years, somewhere in all this change of guard, the Democrats seem to have changed the script and, as a consequence, lost their way! From one of equal representation, the party started veering towards socialism. The curse of the former Soviet Union has beset upon us! At least, that’s what it feels like, with Bernie Sanders and his cheerleaders (Ro Khanna leading the way) repeatedly talking about socialism like it were the next best thing to sliced bread!! In case we have forgotten, many of us have experienced this and have managed to escape from the grips of socialism, when we came to the USA. Or so, we thought!! Welcome to the USA 2020!!!
India, as recently as April 2014, was ruled by a party that believed in democratic socialism, an oxymoron in itself! Everything controlled by the government only spells disaster, and that’s exactly what happened. Lest we forget, corruption was at an all time high, or low depending on how you look at it and people had no option but to pay a bribe to get their pensions, the documents to their house and many more such daily activities! When prices of basic goods are controlled by any government, it looks good from the outside. After all, if the price of a pound of rice is 1₹, it does feel good! But behind the scenes, when the quality of this rice was investigated, the story was an appalling one! A story fraught with deceit, price gauging and every other crime one could perceive! This led to the belief that a socialist country COULD NEVER be a democracy, and yet the socialist democracy theory is doing the rounds! Socialist democracies have yet to succeed!!
Unfortunately, the Indian (NRI or back home) has a very lackadaisical approach to elections. Texas has a battle between a friend of mine, Bangar Reddy (Republican) and Preston Kulkarni, a Democrat. Early voting starts Tuesday, the 18th while the election itself is on March the 3rd. Bangar, a family man with two children, knows the issues most Indians face, starting from education through to permanent residency. A wonderful, gentle person who came to this country, like most others, to get a higher education, Bangar is the prototypical immigrant who has done well in his new surroundings! Two children, both daughters, have now brought him the joy of parenthood.
Will the Indian community rally behind Bangar, and prove to Texas that Indians count when needed, or will the community show their lackluster commitment to the USA? While most immigrants have been committed to displaying their commitment to this wonderful country of ours, it’s the stragglers that are now needed to push Bangar into Congress.
Will we, the Indian diaspora, show up to help support Bangar? Only time will tell us, but till then all I can say is Good Luck, Bangar for taking the leadership role.
God Bless the USA. उत्तिष्ठ भारत। जय माँ भारती