The hideous and incessant societal division in our country seems to be growing stronger every day.
Social media contributes greatly to this.
Everyone has their own echo chamber i.e. bubble based on their religion, ideology, political affiliation, etc.
They consume news, watch films, and social media information based on their bubble.
Quite soon each bubble has its own set of facts.
Facts that should be universal to all are now subjective.
Members from one bubble call the others pejorative epithets.
It is easy to label people you disapprove of as bigots and brush them aside them.
These bubbles have almost become warring factions who think virtue and morality are on their side.
But if everyone starts doing this it could be disastrous for our great country.
The only reason myriad foreign powers were able to rule us for centuries is this division.
The British didn't divide and rule us, they merely exploited the existing divisions among us to plunder us.
What causes this division?
Every human without exception has perceptions and these perceptions turn to misperceptions that cause prejudice.
These prejudices are multiplied a million times when one resides solely in the bubble
You receive a message that XYZ from ABC bubble did something horrible and evil.
You rarely meet people from the ABC bubble, hence you believe it.
In time the misperceptions grow bigger and bigger and it becomes a fact of your life.
So is there any solution to this?
You cannot wave a magic wand to bring peace and love.
However, you can attempt to begin on an individual level.
You find two people who despise each other, perhaps because they subscribe to opposite political ideologies.
You compel them to find something common.
They are unwilling initially.
After several minutes of discussion, they both find they are huge fans of Amitabh Bachchan, in moments they abandon politics and talk about Big B and his films and his performances.
Soon they
discover they both love ginger tea and bond further.
The bond grows and they are exposed to each other lives and eventually, the hate gradually dissolves.
They still have their differences but
learn to respect and even joke about it.
It may not work for everybody certainly not for fanatics and zealots, but it is a worthy exercise.
Once upon a time movie, food and cricket bonded us all, time to rediscover the bond in the little things.
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