Family conversations today: Political polarities, mocking religions or sharing laughs

Laughs. Reliving memories. Sharing sorrows. Planning a trip together — that's what the family conversations were all about. Over the years, a lot has changed when it comes to family conversations. No? Do you remember when was the last time you had a 'healthy' talk with your family members, and the topic of discussion was NOT politics?

As I write this, I feel the only topic people discuss, or a majority of people tend to discuss, are politics and religion. It is said "charity begins at home," but so is "hatred". Hatred for other religions, hatred for a person not having the same thoughts as yours, hatred for a particular political party, hatred for countries and so on and so forth.

For Indians, politics and religion go hand-in-hand. This year in March, India's Supreme Court said that the "moment politics and religions are separated, and politicians stop using religion in politics, hate speeches will go away." But unfortunately, we hated this statement too.

Also read | Indians believe it's important to respect all religions: Pew research

Whom should we blame? Politicians? The media? WhatsApp forwards? Families? Or all of them? It's very hard to point fingers at one as everything is interlinked.

Are we too scared of disagreements? I do believe that family discussions are important and much-needed. 
A report by the International Journal of Psycho-Educational Sciences stated, "when the family is considered as a social factor affecting political attitudes and behaviour, the structure of the families affects the political attitude and behaviour of the individual."

Also watch | WION Fineprint | Free Speech vs Right to Non-Discrimination

While I am talking about families here, it brings me to another point. Children. How, you would ask? Well, while the adults are discussing politics and religion, a child sitting in the room is the one who is grasping things. The negativity. The hatred towards one religion. 

Solution? You will say the best solution is not to involve kids in family conversations. Or one would argue that it will help the child to 'shape views.' But whose 'views' are thos? Other adults. Not of the child's, for sure.

Another relevant issue is if course the issue of  'Dharm' over 'Karma' as we Indians like to say. Has 'dharm' (religion) taken over 'karma' ( where your deeds shape the outcome of your life)? The minute both ideologies are interlinked, it becomes a concern for society. How would you teach a kid to differentiate between religions or the good religion and the bad religions? You cannot tell your child to ask about the person's religion before making them friends. Children make friends without thinking about religion, caste, or gender.

More to come. While I was talking with a colleague, who is a GenZ, he shared something heartbreaking. He highlighted how these political and religion-based are affecting his friendships, just because his thoughts are different from other friends.

I am sure you must have experienced how your 'different' thoughts are creating a gap in your relations with your relatives too. Are political thoughts or religious beliefs above your bond with your family?

Moving forward, I know everybody has their opinions and views, but how do you justify a crime? Like for example, a rapist. It doesn't matter what religion the criminal is of. If someone has committed a crime, he should be punished. Why is it that the criminal is always linked with his religion and makes it look like one religion is above another one? This is India-specific, I feel.

A doctor doesn't ask the patient about his/her religion before treatment. For them, it is just a patient. Why can't we all have the same thought process? At least try not to plague the mindset.

Even technology is equally to be blamed for spreading such thoughts. Yes, I am talking about the WhatsApp forwards. Spreading fake news is just a click away. The amount of fake content available on the platform is enough to destroy the mindset of a whole generation.

These fake messages look so real that a user starts believing in them. It will quote "data and research" and even the "holy books" that users will start thinking in the same manner. Blaming just the politicians or media is not enough; people don't make an effort to even fact-check that news before forwarding it to hundreds of people.

The same forwarded messages then become part of family conversations, inciting hatred and spreading negativity. What are we leaving for the next generation, apart from climate change horrors and unemployment? Hatred?

Think about it.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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