The protest of two minds

"Thamizhan nenaichaa enna nadakkum nu theriyuthaa!" screams a voice. 

"Is this even right? In the wake of emotion, are we sowing the seeds for the downfall of  democracy?" screams another.

The former is filled with passion and rage. The latter is filled with doubts and fears. 

I realize that a new revolution is on its way in my birth state, Tamil Nadu. My friends, standing amidst the sea of people gathered at the Marina beach, call me and ask me why I haven't yet returned to Chennai from Bangalore to be a part of the protests. One of my friends asked me bluntly, "Do you support Jallikattu or do you not?".

I did not know the answer. 

Is not knowing the answer wrong? Is not having an opinion wrong?

The human in me wanted me to take a stand. But the writer in me did not want to. 

The writer wanted me to think about the people who did not want to form an opinion. The writer wanted me to think about the people who did not want to protest. The writer wanted me to remember Aaron Sorkin's lines from The American President.

"You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest."

I see Facebook and WhatsApp being bombarded with memes praising the involvement of the youth and memes mocking the state and central governments. There's a feeling of fear filled joy. 

It is very evident that social media will continue playing a very important role in the forthcoming major political changes. But the fear builds up thinking about the fairness of the battleground it will provide to the two sides of the scenario. 

"Social media is the voice of the common man", one might say. But can the common man be always looked up to for the solutions of political problems?

I do not know the answer. 

But I know to this extent that not knowing the answer and knowing a wrong answer should be given as much importance as knowing the right answer. 

Not being right is also, after all, a democratic right. Denying that would be wrong.