How do you fix a country?

An attempted coup by a rightwing fascist masquerading as an unbiased leader was the final straw It finally brought home to millions of Americans what so many of us outside had known for years Donald Trump may or may not contest another election but the damage he has caused to the very fabric of his countryrsquos democracy will take decades to undo He may be dismissed as a footnote in history but his actions will be remembered for generationsThe attack by a mob of his supporters prompted passionate appeals from Democrats as well as Republicans all calling for unity in a time of extreme dissension It made me think of India the way most things seem to do Could we call ourselves a unified nation To me the painfully obvious answer was that we couldnrsquotA unified nation is one that believes everyone who calls it home deserves a fair chance and should have access to a few fundamental rights The past couple of years have repeatedly shown that there are two Indias under the same sky and which one you belong to determines how you think democracy worksHow does one fix a country anyway By asking everyone to get along and start pulling in the same direction By launching taxpayerfunded marketing campaigns to tell us all that better days are coming up Healing begins with an acknowledgement that something has been broken which is where India appears to have stalled Everyone I know recognises that things arenrsquot going according to plan but no one wants to call it out because not doing so somehow makes life more bearableI find it strange that we never seem to look at our country with any real objectivity We consistently talk about how it is the best place on Earth even as we do everything in our power to make sure our children can live abroad Facts about the Human Development Index malnutrition Press Freedom Index and human rights are routinely ignored by millions of us because these statistics donrsquot seem to affect us directly We fail to look at the larger picture where the suffering of some eventually leads to the suffering of everyone In the bargain we do ourselves as well as our country a disserviceThere is no easy way to fix a country because this is a process that requires a generation of people to change how they think The United States is now a place where people on opposite sides of a debate are refusing to have a conversation making the possibility of them finding common ground more remote than ever before Politicians and spokespeople for various factions will have their say but none of those words will mean anything until common men and women choose to examine their ways of thinking and evaluate what that means for the greater goodI often try and start addressing larger problems by breaking them into constituent parts I canrsquot change how a country thinks obviously but find that speaking to family and friends often triggers conversations with other people down the line that end up making a difference Itrsquos why schoolchildren across India today have taken it upon themselves to undo the damage caused by their parents when they look at issues such as air pollutionNo schoolchild I know believes in fireworks during festivals the way people of my generation did They talk about climate change and damage to their lungs instead This is also why young men and women increasingly stand on the frontlines of society forcing the rest of us to have difficult conversations about things we have swept under carpets for too longTodayrsquos India like todayrsquos America is a place of distrust anger and prejudice It is a place where a comedian can be arrested for something that hasnrsquot been said while a politician can be feted despite actually saying something that deserves censure There are more and more double standards on display and there will come a time when those at the receiving end of them will ask the rest of us to speak upAsk the women of India if this is a safe country Ask minorities if they believe their lives matter Ask students if they feel safe on campus and we may start to understand the disconnect between what we think our country is like and what it really is Do this because it is only when we call things out that we can start to fix themWhen he isnrsquot ranting about all things Mumbai Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet He tweets lindsaypereira Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper