My country, We, I

There are times when Man feels helpless, but there are other times where he does not actually want to provide any help. This was a thought that may have been resident in me for a long time or something that sprang about due to recent events. Either way I feel these are necessary thoughts.

The thoughts root from the feeling of why my country is like this. Why is India the way it is? For all the good it has there is an equivalent proportion of "bad" - but why? Some of the important "bad" that I have been seeing in the recent past is the common "badness" of the desire for Money and Power. Most of the "evil" has its roots at one of these two. One of the recent incidents in Mumbai also makes me fear more about my country- the feeling of "My State" more than "My country". Why is that we are interested in dividing more than uniting? "Power" is one answer that comes to mind. Another recent incident in my college (the reasons of which I am yet not aware of) brings in the second "evil" of "Money".

But why is that? The answers to these question should not be about how I can improve the country but how I can improve myself so that I contribute positively to my country's growth. And the following article is neither an answer nor a question, it is a cry. A cry for help to everybody or anybody who has a solution to this issue that everybody is facing.

As a person who has read Ayn Rand, I have come to the conclusion that the desire for money or power is not wrong. Selfishness is not an evil. If somebody gave me a meter indicating how selfish I am and another indicating how my selfishness prevents other people from growing, I wouldn't mind if the first meter points to the highest reading as long as the second meter does not rise from 0. But am I like that? A question for which I have no answer.

Obviously such questions do not come from nowhere. Such questions do not come when one does "evil", neither does it come when the neighbor is subjected to "evil". But only comes when one is a prey of the so-called "evil". And that is what makes me question - how can I prevent this evil? How many times in a day are very letting "evil" grow by actually not stopping it? Even as a person who has seen only a portion of life, I can see the amount of "evil" I have supported. But how do I stop it? I need something and I cannot get it without bribing? How would I oppose it? - not as a group but as an individual. How can I ensure that, independent of how the other part of the world is growing, my side of it does not fall from values?

And more important how can I lead a life that allows me to grow without stepping on anyone else? How can I know whether I am leading such a life or not?