On Indian Immigrants' apparent fondness for US GOP

I was born and brought up in India, and I love that country dearly. But for the past 10 odd years, my home has been the United States, where I live my life, work and pay taxes, as well as engage in social processes and participate in communities. One process I cannot - although I personally feel entitled to - participate in, yet, is the political process, because I am not a US Citizen or Permanent Resident. But that hasn't stopped me from taking wholehearted interest in the local and Federal politics and government, because politics and policy affect lives, my life and those of my near and dear ones, and of millions of other people, seen and unseen.

Au contraire, Religion IS the problem

Philosopher and author Ophelia Benson shared on Twitter today an article about Ms. Sahar Taman, a founder of Journeys to understanding, a non-profit organization trying to open up the understanding of the Arab world amongst the rest of the world, especially the US. The article reported on an interview of Ms. Taman taken by the Connection Point blog of a non-profit organization, Peace X Peace; Ms. Taman talked about her work in Egypt, trying to promote what she terms as "interfaith dialog". According to her, this is about bringing a reconciliation amongst the practitioners of various faiths - Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist or any other - so that everyone can realize their essential humanity, and find common ground that way.

No doubt, a noble goal. But will this enlightened end justify the means Ms. Taman embraces, with her inordinate insistence on faith as the panacea? Ever curious, I left a few questions after the blog post, but it is caught in moderation for the past several hours. I don't have much hope of having it live, and so I decided to go ahead and ask the same questions in my post. The quotes in italic are from Ms. Taman, based on her interview.

Arrogance of Faith

James Taylor, 41, was quadriplegic and had severe developmental disabilities, requiring constant care and attention. His aged parents placed him in a group home for the developmentally disabled, near Schenectady, NY, hoping that he would receive that care. What is unfortunate is that these types of group homes, run either by the State or private entities, often fall far short of any reasonable expectation, as today's NY Times reports. Left unattended for 15 minutes in a bathtub, James Taylor, unable to lift his head, drowned in the water of his bathtub and died. The NY Times investigative report reveals that this is not an isolated incident. Apparently, "In New York, it is unusually common for developmentally disabled people in state care to die for reasons other than natural causes." It is disturbing and inhuman per se, a terrible state of affairs; the quality of care and advocacy for this marginalized group of human beings, people with developmental disabilities, is abysmal, and what's more, there is almost no or nominal redress after these tragic events. The Times investigation paints a general picture of apathy and lack of concern for these people on part of the caregivers, as well as the State.

And, as if this weren't enough to ruin the day, there was, of course, this abomination... this particular group of pious god-botherers that always manages to surface from the fetid depths of humanity, following any tragedy, in order to claim it as proof for their non-existent deity.