Hats off to America

Equality of expression and equality of freedom are enshrined in the Constitutions of all countries, but nowhere else is it practiced and accepted as widely as in U.S.A. (at least now). The case in point is the latest Tea Diplomacy of Barrack Obama, President of the country. The freedom of expression is so great that there were any number of jokes on Clinton and Bush--particulary on Clinton after his Monica affair. USA is one of the countries in the world where there is absolutely no press censorship of any kind.Look at the efforts of Bill Clinton in bringing back the two American Journalists from Korea---the same journalistic community which ridiculed him no end.

A small incident that happened on 16th July in Cambridge has caught the attention of the world. One lady, Mrs Lucia telephoned the Police informing that two black people were trying to break open the door of a house in the nieghbourhood. The Police Searjent who received the call was a while man by the name of James Crolly. The searjent immediately went to the spot and questioned the two men who were trying to break the door. The searjent asked for ID and one the men replied that he was trying to open the locks of his own house. The Policeman refused to accept the statement. He asked for ID Proof. The black man then tried to speak to a superior police officer. After much heated exchange of words, the black man produced an ID issued by Harward University. Yes, he was Professor Henry Louis Gates of Harward. The searjent then called the Harward Police. The Professor and his black driver were then taken to the police station and were detained for a few
hours. They were let off after some time. Here the important points to note are::

1)The lady who telephoned the Police believed either that a black man would not own a house in the neighbourhood. or house-breakers would be only blacks
2)The Police refused to accept the story of the Professor.
3)The Professor was detained because he initially refused to provide ID proof and used strong language. He used the words " Do you think that black man!s statement should not be accepted"
4)Another Police Officer who came on the scene after some time was a black man and he supported the stand of James Crolly.

This incident was widely published in all the newspapers of USA. President Obama made a statenent to the effect that USA was still not successful in overcoming racial issues. He also criticised the Police functioning in this case.

The Police Searjent did not accept the criticism of the President. He mentioned that the President was making a statement without knowing the facts.

The President immediately mentioned that he was not aware of the full facts of the case. He withdrew his criticism of the Police.

What happened next was most unexpected. The President invited the Police Officer and the Professor for TEA in the White House.. After the meeting with the President, both the Professor and the Police stuck to their respective stands.

That an ordinary police official could make a statement about the President openly is indeed remarkable. The President was also magnanimous in accepting his mistake.

Can you think of this happening in India?. Here even a very high ranking Police Official will be afraid of talking about even a Junior Minister or a bureaucrat. We are used to "Sir" culture. All the superior Officers are addressed as "Sir". In USA, they are called by their names. In India, if you call a Superior Officer by name, it will hurt his ego.

Here, I cannot but quote the folllowing famous words of Carl Schurtz:

"My Country,when right, kept it right. When wrong, set it right".