I would ideally like to be reasonable with friends who identify themselves with a different political ideology.
Imagine we are all on this train journey and there is just one seat available.
Say in our conversation, if we discover that you need the seat more than me, I will let you have it..
However if you tell me that you are more deserving of the seat just because your ideology is superior to mine, I may still let you have it.
Because I guess you might be so tired that you are unable to reflect on the flaws in your own thought processes.
Now what do I do if you tell me that all the seats on this train belong to the people of your ideology?
What do I do if you tell me I can only stand and travel because I do not have an ideology that is deserving of equality?
I will just take that seat and see what happens.
You may threaten me. You may bring your mob. They may violate me and evict me out of my seat.
I will get up and many others like me may get up along with me.
We all get together.
We will figure out a way to fight for our seats.
We may fail but we will not stop trying.
With the belief that one day tables will turn.
People from your side will also start questioning themselves. Because questioning comes naturally to human beings.
It is just that when you are exhausted and are feeling disempowered, you may not have the luxury to introspect.
As you get comfortable on your seat, some of you will start questioning.
Some of you will look around and see that someone else needs that seat more than you.
Some may hesitate in the beginning but slowly the seats will be given up.
Some of you might get shamed for doing it and you sit back again.
However there will be some who will break the barrier of shame.
They will realise that breaking this barrier is so liberating and empowering.
Perspectives may change.
Suddenly standing up looks like a more powerful position than sitting down.
At this point some of us realise that as long as we are on this train the power keeps circulating.
Between the people who are standing and people who are sitting.
Skanda S
Author and Illustrator
Skanda is a freelance educator and a writer based in Bangalore. He is a founding member of Centre For Conversations.
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Indeed, a very lucid way of describing a society!!
Thank you Manisha