This brings me to the curious position of someone who does not hold the views that are cool-to-hold. It's a difficult, and uncomfortable stance; sometimes it feels like a running battle. I face this more and more with women my age when I tell them that I am less and less inclined to religion and ritual; I have faced this twenty years ago, when I used my cycle or walked, rather than drove the car (even recently, I was told, in Chennai, that since the traffic was very bad, it was dangerous for me to walk from Nilgiri's to the beach...I should take the car!) I face this when I express my view that ecological problems might be self-limiting.
Very often, it's easier to maintain a diplomatic silence rather than debate my opinions constantly. I don't want to always come across as an opinionated, loud person. And there are times when people are so entrenched in their opinions that they don't hear any other points of view at all. It's nice to hear someone stick up for their point of view (whether I agree or not) in a reasonable way. :) Deepa.
