Democracy is upheld by its people, not Twitter rants
A person walks up to the stage and says, "For the next five minutes I am going to make a joke that is non-political, non-offensive, constructive, has no expletives and will have nothing that creates controversy," after five minutes of pin drop silence, he looks at the audience and says, "I hope you liked the joke." How's this relevant? Read to find out.
Twitter Gods of the modern world
In the modern world, every incident comes under intense scrutiny. Is the incident true? We are not sure. Has the explanation been taken out of context? Are we judging things hastily? Yes. Are we well informed to form a solid opinion? No. One can't possibly judge a sensitive issue and its aftermath by Twitter's 140-words limit but surprisingly, we do it quite often.
It's what they have heard, not known or felt
Paresh Rawal and Arundhati Roy were recently embroiled in a Twitter tiff and heated words were exchanged. It is, perhaps, a little bit of a stretch to think either of the parties knew what they were talking about because none of them were present at that particular moment when Major Leetul Gogoi took a decision; but the premise is open for mud-slinging and name-calling.
There are no retakes in real life
Arundhati Roy is an accomplished writer but this is not a book, Paresh Rawal is an amazing actor but this is not a movie; these are people and there are lives at risk. We're not judges, executioners, know-it-alls and we cannot comment on something without in-depth knowledge of the crisis and call it freedom of speech, knowing that we can bring about major discord.
Be informed than be opinionated
Opinions are messy and if one should choose to make one, it should come from understanding; a loose statement from a predominant figure, though well intended, does more harm than good. It is often misinterpreted and more importantly since their voice is heard by people, who are from several walks of the society, they form a half-baked idea about a problem or incident.
The "joke" is on all of us
We have the right to voice our opinions and practice freedom of speech; no one can take that from us. We also have a responsibility to get our opinions across in a manner, that shows maturity. The "joke" is to know where to keep your mouth shut; when you don't have constructive criticism to offer, it will only lead to chaos.
