Re: Respecting political leaders.
Its not a question of “why”. Its a matter of openess in the society. While you want to ride the high horse of praising India for its openess, you have to take in the fact that in India, people are ostracized and forced to resign for speaking their mind.
Here are a couple of quotes for you. This is what free speech is.
- The symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.
- You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.