Sid-Thinks

Humanity is way better off right now than any other point in history.  Human suffering is at its lowest, economic growth is at all time best, technology is growing at the fastest rate ever, medical tech has more than doubled the average human lifespan in under 150 years; so on and so forth. Of course not everything is merry, the Earth as a planet is suffering from our activities, moreover there are still wars, famines, dictators and genocides.  There's still a looming threat of nuclear annihilation and the guardians of The Bombs are crazy egomaniacs. Interestingly, the concept of 'Country' seems to keep people from killing those within it en masse.  The criteria for me loving another person as a fellow 'Countryman' is quite quaint as well; he or she just has to be born in the same enclosed geographical area as me!  I automatically will be somehow related to that person under the flag of my country.  This sometimes results in Nationalism, which has worked

A collection of thoughts I feel are hypocritical about us, but they might be hypercritical.  You, the reader, are the judge.  Without further ado, here it goes... 1.  "Sir" This one was funny to some extent.  It struck me hard and had me go meta for a few hours.  At the US consulate in Mumbai, there was a lady carrying an umbrella.  The watchmen there were checking for any prohibited items.  She promptly and uber-politely asked one of them "Where do we keep these umbrellas.....Sir?  (there was a pause).  What hit me was her use of the word "Sir".  How many times in her life would she have addressed a watchman with that title?  I have seen people being rude to others whom they deem inferior in some way or the other, or with whom they don't have a favor to ask.  I remember an instance where a lady at my work was shouting at a watchman for some petty thing.  She was in a fit of rage, almost with a frothing mouth.  What if the same lady were at the US consu