International Program – Glasgow – Blog #1

Day 2, Glasgow: First Encounter with Government Officials

When I heard that the day would commence with a presentation
from a governmental official, I just sat back and wished it would have been
different. I really wanted to wake up fully before getting to know about
constitutional theories. But as I was taking my chair, I saw her smile at
me. Though her smile and energy wanted me to change my mind, I decided to ignore them. I
was trying hard to remain unmoved with her use of words like "inclusive
society", "Scotland's goal of leaving no one behind", and its not important
where we come from as long as we can go forward together. I remember
thinking They are all theories; she doesn't actually know how difficult it is
to put them in practice. But then, she started to use words like Sikh, Gurudwara and
talked about the 5 Kâ's so casually that I started to think probably I
was biased. Maybe she does these presentations way too often.
She was good with her words and her concepts were so clear. A New
York government representative in her place would be standing there
waiting for people to applaud him for the use of these "foreign" words. It was as
if she could identify herself with all the religions and cultural backgrounds. When
she was asked why it was important to fund interfaith activities, she
answered:"Scotland can flourish only if the people of the country are
happy. It is our investment in cohabitation. If we support religious communities,
people will be more comfortable to come forward and work with us on various
projects."

How could she get that equation so right? Her math must be good. New Yorkers are
mathematically challenged.
Am I being unduly skeptical? Is it all too good to be true or is the loyalty to
my adopted country not letting me think, because if I compare my US is coming
up short?

I consciously told myself no comparisons please, maybe we
can actually do this, and we just have to make some right moves few at a time
rather than one as we don't have that much time. I want to be hopeful
rather than skeptical.

Arvind Kaur
UNITED SIKHS
 
 

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