Why to read? On World Book day...
We read to know the truth, but the in the era of Social media when truth is also optional (depending what your leanings and biases are), we should read to learn how to judge a truth. How to segregate between the theories. What is important is to have an ability and gumption to pursue what is truth and what is not. Because there can be only one fact. In today’s world with the plethora of stories with dozens of version, it is like finding a needle in a haystack as it is finding what makes a genuine story. Reading expands your horizon just to establish that very fact. We are surrounded by people who will put falsified, unverified facts in your head, judgment becomes key because that differentiates you between the ordinary and erudite.
I have been very disturbed over the past few days regarding some of the conversations I have had with a close friend. Just to share an example, it is about the Kathua Rape case in Jammu. This goes like, friend shared an unverified video with me about an absolute opposite version of what had been in the chargesheet filed in the court of law. It was a 13 minute long video where this gentleman ranted about that the girl was not raped, she was murdered by the rohingya immigrant, temple was not busy, and body was thrown there rather than all the facts about it. I saw the entire video not because I believed it but I wanted to understand the gravity of disillusionment. I texted that friend of mine, what made you share something such an alternative reality. His reply I cannot hear anything against Hinduism, as so have been pointed out in various sections of the social media. To that friend of mine if you are reading it, you had made a judgment that they have pointed out something bad about Hinduism so you shared the untruth. You had an implicit bias not against Hinduism but against the truth. You never had the ability to know what the reality is, not a Chargesheet filed in the court of law but a story concocted to suit a narrative just to the people like you who has a half cooked brain. You are the source of communal words in this country not because you are saying it but after having been educated like you have, you do not possess the sense of judgment. You are not saying anything wrong, but you are sharing something wrong as good as this is your opinion. In the world of social media it is easy to get instantly offended too as you get instantly gratified too, but you loose what is called the basic tenet of human discourse, FACT. So evolve, learn and read. You are literate but not educated. My friend, you are disillusioned. Get well soon!
With unverified accounts, with ability to just rant on for days without a sense of reality is a new normal. Yes, it is a new normal but a sad normal. This is the source of division in this age. Humans have evolved over a long time to face major challenges in our lives, we built great systems to overcome those. This is a new challenge in front of us. I may not be the best person to take such an advise from, but I definitely am speaking from the sense of responsibility from what I have seen. The best piece of advise I can give is atleast not share something you have personally not verified and have the ability to listen. Speech is silver, silence is golden. And have some belief in the institutions of the rule of law (Court/Police). I know there are more free criminals than ones in the jail, but your duty as a responsible ordinary citizen is to call wrong wrong. Not ‘What about that…’ ‘But…’. The moment you utter whataboutery of something, you are a concocted human being who is suppressing the truth to force your own agenda and put it on people.
Thomas Friedman says ‘You cannot survive for 40 years by learning only for 4 years’. Learning and evolving is a continuous process. Now this is an amazing line. It is such a blatant truth in a changing world. What is important now may not exist tomorrow. What will exist tomorrow, will change by the time you reach tomorrow. So how do you prepare yourself? By knowing, by understanding the underpinnings of the world, by acknowledging what is making a difference in this generation to this generation by this generation. And how do you do that? Read. Read to know. Read to understand. Read to acknowledge.
World book day is a UNESCO organized event to promote reading, publishing and copyright. I would extend that to a bit of education as well. Read Memoir of JD Vance to know why we are at a stage where the world goes blind right, read Scott Gallaway to know what difference technologies are making in our lives going forward, read Abhinav Bindra’s autobiography to know what it takes to win medals in an individual Olympic sport from india. read Hit Refresh to know who Satya nadella is what made him what he is and what is he doing. Read to expand your horizon more than anything. Read to extract. Read to gain. Anyone can read words, but what you do with that counts.
We are at a major cornerstone in human generation, something which world has never seen before. I wish to be optimistic, but I know I would have to work very hard to be that way longer. Would end with a quote that summarizes everything above “Think before you speak. Read before you think”. Happy World Book day!
