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From: debray@sbcs.UUCP (Saumya Debray)
Newsgroups: net.nlang.india
Subject: Re: reply to william loftus (familial dependence)
Message-ID: <347@sbcs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 8-Jul-85 08:30:08 EDT
Article-I.D.: sbcs.347
Posted: Mon Jul  8 08:30:08 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 14-Jul-85 09:11:10 EDT
References: <645@homxb.UUCP> <101800002@uiucdcs>
Organization: Computer Science Dept, SUNY@Stony Brook
Lines: 28

> >In Indian families, decisions are made jointly as a family ...
> >Children are taught to respect their elders ...
> >Dependence on experience of this kind is far better than ...
> 	
> 	You just proved the point that Indian parents raise their
> 	children to be dependent.
> 

> >Is this independence the reason why divorce rate is high in U.S. and
> >is it the dependence that is keeping people married for their life?
> 	
> 	You bet. It is the dependence that is keeping unhappily married
> 	people from standing up and saying, "I want a divorce". They are
> 	incapable of making a decision individually ...

I'm not sure how meaningful - or constructive - it is to talk about
"dependence" or "independence" in isolation from any larger context of
the Indian way of life.  Ultimately, all that matters is whether people are
happy (which need not necessarily be related to material comfort): but if
it's not clear that the Indian family is demonstrably more/less happy than
their American counterpart, does arguing about it serve any purpose at all?
-- 
Saumya Debray
SUNY at Stony Brook

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