Benri Naga
Kohima
Post 2016 there was a new and unprecedented flow of information that anyone simply couldn't have foreseen or estimate its ramifications. Societal and cultural shift as a result of this explosive amount of information is too broad to get into and will probably require a thesis with undecipherable jargon so if brevity permits, it is worthwhile to talk about a burgeoning phenomenon that is rapidly shaping our psyche and worldview, especially the young: An increased interest in US politics and their culture war dynamics.
Perhaps a lot of it has to do with our own conventionally conservative upbringing but US politics especially conservative/right wing political commentary and knee jerk reactions to cultural outliers have found a fertile ground and strong resonance among Nagas who spend more and more time online. It's very hard not to come across Nagas in their early 20's or older not defer to a YouTube commentator or a media personality with enormous following (your Petersons and Shapiros) who has significantly shaped their views about wide ranging topics from electoral politics to culture.
For the uninitiated, it is helpful to note that most of this sudden interest came about with the polarizing 2016 US elections and the surge of online political commentators on social media.It was suddenly cool and savvy to own hysterical and sanctimonious, “feminazis”, “SJW's”, “leftist communist marxist post-modernists” and whatever combination of pejorative buzzword have you. People loved it, there was a cathartic element to it and it was an algorithmic stroke of genius from the social media companies as they found a way to keep users on their platform seamlessly glued to the screen, clicking away, video after video, own age after own age, 'destroys' after 'destroys'.
The result is a remarkable spike in interest in a culture war dynamic and political process overseas as a whole and this is evident as most opinions on many contentious issues such as gender equality, minority rights, social justice, welfare, political philosophy, and free speech are verbatim; “Socialism has never worked before,”“There are only two genders,”“Feminism is cancer,” “Free speech is under attack,”“1984 is here” etc., are some of the greatest hits.
If you have never come across any of these, you must be living under a digital rock and must have never visited an online thread or a facebook group. What people consume online, whom they prefer to get their news from, how often they plug into a YouTube channel or a facebook page is completely their prerogative and none of anyone's business and it's good to see people become politically conscious. But it’s how we consume the information that's more important here because it crucially shapes the way we think, behave, derive values and make life decisions.
Our ethics, views, values and conduct should be directly related and informed by our immediate surroundings. Yes, our culture is heavily influenced by foreign imports, especially from the US. K-pop, Netflix shows and Spotify playlists are ubiquitous and they almost entirely dictate the way we behave, dress and socialize. So it is important that we critically interpret, contextualize and apply them without eating them up as it is and regurgitating them word for word with such bravado. For instance, has feminism gone too far because a certain political pundit told me so when we live in a state which has no women elected in the legislative assembly? Is any government assistance bad when I live in a country with people so dependent on government programmes, schemes and stipends? Is a philosophy of “Rugged individualism,” personal responsibility and dictums such as “Pick yourself up by the bootstraps” important or even relevant when I was raised by people and have ancestors with such a close knit sense of community, togetherness and clanship that passes down values, heritage, etiquettes and practices from generation to generation? Is affirmative action bad when most of us are beneficiaries of ST reservation in colleges or jobs? Is every welfare program for the rural populace with much needed assistance for subsistence (PM Kisan, MGNREGA, PM AwasYojana, Ayushman Bharat) and livelihood bad because it is governmental overreach and big government sucks? Are we spending too much time debating a niche cultural issue overseas regarding gender such as a man putting on a dress which is carefully crafted by a magazine/advertisement agency to invoke conversation or controversy to increase it is circulation/sales that will probably have no bearing on our lives whatsoever but ultimately make the company richer? Are LGBT rights a threat to the nuclear family or social fabric when we are all one major illness or diagnosis away from bankruptcy that devastates families and have us scampering to the nearest metro city for treatment because we have no proper medical infrastructure and when rampant unemployment is the main obstacle to starting families? Are we assigning a disproportionate amount of moral panic to every unconventional music or video and deeming it an existential civilizational threat when we are witnessing an insurmountable amount of income inequality where the top rich percentile has amassed such wealth as many times as the bottom majority of the human race and are left squabbling for marginal gains? Is an ideology like 'Socialism' and its interpretation in the west which has been misconstrued, mischaracterized, brutalized beyond meaning, having a myriad of applications in every country completely irrelevant to a country like ours which was founded with welfare programmes as a guiding principle to uplift the poor (two-thirds of people in India live in poverty)? Should our moral and religious values or convictions hinge on a inflammatory politician who has uses the evangelical community solely for it's vote? Or are our values, religious or otherwise, larger than any politician or public figure? Do they endure and stand the test of time and circumstance? Are we reading too much into a political scandal millions of miles away when we have a plethora of issues in our own backyard that needs dire attention? From the highest unemployment rate in the country, high HIV positivity rate, shortage of basic amenities for livelihood and perpetual political uncertainty.
Yes, the US elections are consequential and its affects are wide ranging but how it implicates us and to what extent, their relevance or compatibility with our country, our takeaways and how much we inculcate them in our culture as well as influence conversation is the more important subject. But if your introduction to the political landscape was as recent as 2016 and stay informed by watching videos of histrionic political drama overseas, chances are your views and opinions on current events and politics in general are highly skewed, ahistorical, incoherent, infantile or completely irrelevant to circumstances at home. This is not to undermine your comprehensive and cognitive capabilities but a critique of media consumption which often tends to be uncritical and reaffirms our preconceived, often prejudiced notions about people and their motives. This also has a lot to do with our education which does not priorities critical thinking, analysis and lacks historical context.
To reiterate, your politics, values and convictions should be informed by your immediate surroundings. Are our elected representatives accountable to us and do they uphold our will or are they solely driven by money? Are our hospitals, schools public institutions well-funded, functional and efficient? What is the state of science tech and innovation in our land? How many people die of illness because they can't afford treatment and why do we always have to go to metro cities for better treatment? Are students in the village equipped with enough teachers? What percentage of central and state funds are being misused and misappropriated? Until and unless we seek the answers to address such pressing issues at home and allocate due attention, I am afraid we'd be equipped with the wrong tools to find enduring solutions to a beleaguered state like ours and leave the younger generation much to be wanting.
