Previous parts: part I, part II, and part III.

Dear SD,

Well I hope the mental exercise is healthy.....

I really liked your analysis of evolution. I was a student of hostory and reading such a simple yet true description of the process of evolution was a treat for the mind. But again, there is something that i don't think I agree with, that is ur case history of Russia and China. Do u really think they emerged powerful after revolution? The Csars were thrown out and there was the hege revolution in USSR in 1917. What was the result??? Chaos and ultimately the disintegration. Try reading Alec Nove's works or for that matter the novel We the Living by Ayn Rand to understand the destruction that revolution brought along with it. Again, China, I believe is not a healthy example. I will again refer u to a book, Wild Swans written by Jung Chang. These countries may be powerful now but the price that they paid was something don't approve of. To become powerful we cannot destroy the lives of onwhole generation and sadly that was what happened in these two countries.

Yes evolution through education is what is the need of the day. But where is it happening? We are either too stuck up with the past or we don't want to come out of the traditional and archaic beliefs. We just don't want to progress. Even today we apply reason only when it suits our convenience. You will find educated people opposing love marriages, inter caste marriages. A woman smoking is still considered taboo in many parts of this country although situation is diff in the big cities although a man doing the same is quite ok. But thats not the point. What I am trying to convey is that inspite of education our archaic beliefs cloud our reasoning. We never tell a girl to not smoke because its bad for her health but because a girl shouldn't do so.

SD, I really wish that we get the education that opens our mind and liberates our spirit. Something which allows us to REASON. It is only then that we can reach the zenith.

As always,

Awaiting your reply,

Natasha.

My reply:

Hi Natasha,

You are right about the bloodshed that took place in China and the USSR. And if you read my earlier response, I agree with you that this sort of bloodshed is unnecessary if the evolution is taking place naturally. It is simple, if evolution is stopped, revolution would take place naturally and you can't prevent it. Post-revolution process should be evolution again and not faked or aritificial evolution - the case for USSR and partially China now. France, on the other hand, after the revolution started the natural evolution process. Like I said earlier, we should try to follow the evolution taking place in the U.S. and the U.K.

Sadly, in today's day of age, the education we get doesn't teach us to nurture REASON. We are expected to learn to make more money and be successful at job. Our reasoning is clouded by our beliefs, cultural values because we have not nurtured REASON enough. We feel that we are making the right decision based upon our reasoning, but it is not the true reason, I was talking about earlier.

Natasha, I was wondering if I could publish our email conversation on my blog. I would only publish it if you approve of this request.

Last thing, I am not a psychology or a world history expert. Whatever we have discussed is something what I feel about human psyche and world politics. You may or may not find all my arguments in any books.

S.D.

Please feel free to comment. Final part coming soon.

First two parts are available here: Part I and Part II.

Kindly, read the first two parts to understand the conversation presented below.

Dear SD,

First, I never asked for your name all I had asked was to whom should I address this mail to and I got my answer. Thanks. U're right. Our culture inspite of having so many similarities are very distinct. The kind of liberties I have here as a girl I would not enjoy there. And this I am not saying from mere presumption, my best friends have just come back from Pakistan and it was keenly observed by them. Our cultures have become very different. Our outlook towards life, society, religion, women.... everything is different. I dont know if we have been able to preserve culture in India. U know what we are doing??? We are preserving what is not necessary and sadly forgetting that what is necessary. As it is the advent of Victorian morality has made us a bunch of hypocrites.

To be friends what is needed is sharing the common bond and accepting and realising the changes that has come in 60 years. We should accept and respect ur culture and vice versa.

As with regard to religion, I always believe that it should be very personal. The moment religion is made public or it becomes ur sole identity there will be problems. At the end religion is just a means to do good and be a nice human being. Then why is it that we fight over it? Does fighting in the name of religion make us good humans? Does any one... Christ, Allah, Ram, Buddha teach us to fight over who is better. Sadly even the educated fail to realise this. Thankfully India being a secular country we don't face any torture as a minority community although there are communal strifes, which I as I said earlier just another perversion of human mind.

SD, I again ask you who decides what is right and what is wrong? What is right for you may be wrong for me.....

As always,

Awaiting your reply,

Natasha.

My Reply:

Natasha,
Your questions are good mental exercise :)

We all are aware of the process of evolution. This is not only true for living organisms but for situations as well. People, cultures, societies, situations adapt themselves to better suit the environments around them. Environments or conditions are generally the first instinct the mass has towards an incident. For example, in some cultures, having a homosexual relationship can cause some concerns, because that is what the instincts dictate. Human instincts, from the recorded time, has had two outcomes in general - FLIGHT or FIGHT. When we educate ourselves, we try to nurture a third instinct outcome - REASON, and this in turn leads to either NEGOTIATE or COMPROMISE. And it gets complicated now. Basically, how we react as a nation/community/group to an incident is what creates the situation, leading to our response of either FLIGHT or FIGHT and if we are lucky to be educated, then, hopefully, to REASON/NEGOTIATE/COMPROMISE. This is the evolution cycle.

Now the counter-part of evolution is, quite obviously, revolution. Revolutions take place when the evolution process has stopped and the progress is stagnant. Revolutions try to speed up the evolution process artificially at the expense of murders, civil wars, etc. Three out of the five permanent security council members have gone through a revolution in the past - i.e. China, Russia, and France. In recent history, Iran also had a revolution too. Revolutions cause a lot of bloodshed, but countries emerging from a revolution are more stronger, healthier and unified.

Two countries that didn't have a revolution from the security council are the U.S. and the U.K. Now they went through a healthy evolution process. And that is something we all should aim for - i.e. that is the healthy evolution process. We shouldn't start copying or following their footsteps. For evolution to take place, we would have to educate ourselves, rely on REASON, and learn to grow on our own, rather then copying.

I have tried my best to make it simpler for you and I hope this helps.

S.D.

Again, Part IV coming shortly.