Life In US

I have never liked introductions. Introducing oneself is not a simple task after all. What do people want to know? What is interesting to them? Do they want my life story or just my name and occupation? Place of residence perhaps? Well, here it goes. I moved to US in Feb 07 living in Virginia in a one bedroom apartment with my partner. I am an ordinary person My passion has always been in the arts, animals and traveling. When I was a kid I used to secretly cry when I saw a homeless dog. I used to get seriously upset when I saw garbage in the otherwise perfectly beautiful scene. In my then naive perceptions of life, I wanted to literally change the world. Well I end up with my introduction and would like to put my views about the life in US in this blog.

Living overseas has enabled me to truly appreciate numerous cultures and customs from around the entire world. When I moved to the US, I realized Americans have a strong tendency to take for granted various privileges served to them on an open silver platter. Electronics, nice cars, and expensive housing are luxuries the typical local family will never enjoy.

While the United States continues to open its door wide to refugees, the invitation does not extend to all comers. America,in common with most other countries, now places restrictions on immigration. So if you wish to take up employment you need to apply for a visa, and there is absolutely no guarantee that it will be granted.For many immigrant categories a quota system is in operation, and when the annual quota is reached, applications in the pipeline are held over to the next fiscal. It has been attracting over a million immigrants a year - a greater number than at any time in its history. Nearly eleven million newcomers have made their home here during the past decade - nearly twice as many as in the 1980s and almost three times as many as in the 1970s. The reasons are not hard to find. Many of its industries are the leaders in their particular field and so are its academic institutions. It remains one of the world's leading economies, politically it is the most powerful country on earth and it is a trend setter in many ways. American commercial interests span the globe and our business culture is strongly influenced by them.

Well, now I hope to have a more balanced judgment after spending a while in US.
I would start with some some points:

- Basic amenities:

Taps do not run dry. No power cuts. Roads without bumps. Some people fall for that.....and I don't blame them. I have survived the other end of this scenario.

- Money:

How about a re-definition of USA as a place to make money? One gets highest-salary jobs, there are minimal government restrictions compared to most of the other places....well actually I don't need to write anything for this point. Its more than obvious!

- Open attitude:

This I believe is the major strength of USA. Willingness to accept new ideas. I have heard that once, when India was the richest country in the world, people were really open to new ideas. Decline started with stupid restrictions imposed upon the society.

- Accountability:

I don't have precise words to describe it but I sense a greater accountability in this place. Call made to cell phones do not get "lost in the network". Letters posted to and by me reach destinations in a timely manner. And many other small things.

-Diverse and Varied:
In a country as large and dynamic as the United States, nationalities and races mix. For convenience, however, we'll classify Americans according to several factors. The first is race: European (White), African (Black), Asian or Native American (American Indian). But even this is not a perfect classification system, since Hispanic Americans (those with a Spanish language background) can also be white, black or even part Native American.

Stated below are strictly my personal opinions :
I firmly believe that we need to do what history has taught us. Stay in a developed country, get self developed and then go back and try to develop our own nation. Someone would now say that what is there to go back to India from US and I agree that India has a long way to go, but imagine what would have happened if the TATAS ,AMBANIS,OR more recently AZIM PREMJI or NARAYAN MURTHY would have said that? It is not always that the sea has the same tides, it keeps on changing and changing for the good. after all our children are the future of our country and not for some other country. When I say that US or UK or any other developed country is good because of social or economical life,I need to remember that it is infact our own guilt that we try to hide from our own future. In short, I need to go back to India and raise my kids there in a socially, diversified society. I will certainly not have the conveniences I’ve in America, when I’m in India, but I was an Indian, am an Indian and will be an Indian. I don’t particularly care for Hinduism or any other religion; but my nationality, I’m proud of it.Yes, India is impoverished, developing, every day it amazes me how our young nation still holds up as one nation with its various divisions, violent and polluted. But, it is a democracy. It is a democracy that openly admits when it has been wrong. In US, I believe, there is a tendency to push debates under the carpet in the name of "patriotism".