Occam's Razor by Avinash Kaushik

I am an immigrant to the United States.

In the process of becoming a citizen there was one document, with a wonderful snippet, that continues to be deeply inspiring for me. It reflects the promise of America.

The document was the United States Declaration of Independence [text here], and these words. . . .

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That last part forms for me the essence of what it means to be truly free.

It is a commitment, to you and to me and to us, of the opportunity that we are blessed with. An opportunity to make choices that you and I would like to as we live our humble lives.

One of those choices you and I can make is the choice of who we can marry.

It is in support of that choice that I request you to consider voting No on prop 8.

I have profound respect for the choice you make in whom to marry. I am asking that my right to marry the person of my choice be preserved.

And the right of my friends. And my neighbours. And my fellow citizens.

For Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Thank you.

Update: Nov 5th 2008, 1400 hrs.

I am deeply disappointed that Prop 8 passed. That we have now institutionalized and legalized civil discrimination against our own citizens in California.

But.

At the turn of the last century dogs and a specific race were asked to stay out public establishments.

Less than a hundred years ago one human gender could not even vote.

Less than fifty years ago one race in this country was asked to ride at the back of the bus, we still believed in "separate but equal".

Just eight years ago an American University ended a ban on interracial dating (something that would have prevented my beloved wife and I from ever being a couple).

I am confident that in my lifetime this nation will allow any person who wants to marry to marry, and marry the one they choose to marry.

I leave you with words that inspire me:

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope.


-"I Have a Dream", Martin Luther King.

Update: Aug 4th 2010, 1400 hrs.

Today is a happy day.

Judge Vaughn Walker has found that it is unconstitutional to discriminate against same sex couples.

There is a sense of jubilation all around (not surprising given where I live). My tweet.

A small battle has been won.

It is hard to know the result of the war. I fear that there is no way Chief Justice John Roberts's court would uphold this ruling (even if it is upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals).

But that is a worry for another day. Today we pause and we celebrate a victory for humanity and equality for each person in the United States of America (just as our founding fathers would have wanted).

Finally Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy make it to the big game and come away big winners! Congratulations to the entire Colts team and the wonderful city of Indianapolis.

Having grown up in India my sports roots are in Cricket and Soccer. But I have grown to love American Football in my years of living here in the US (probably has something to do with going to Ohio State for MBA school and OSU having such a strong college football team). 

My MBA internship was at Delco (General Motors) in Kokomo, Indiana and since then I have followed the Colts and like the rest of their fans have grown used to hopes raising through the regular season only to be bitterly dashed during the NFL playoffs. Not this year!

I am happy for Peyton and his coach, without a doubt two of the most deserving winners. It was truly team work that triumphed with every part of the team delivering the goods when push came to shove (not just today but through the playoffs as well).

I want to touch on one aspect of all this. If nothing else Indy’s win today proves that you can be nice and win. There is no humbler person than Coach Dungy, he does not bark, he does not scowl, he does not swear at the officials, he is not aggressive. He is calm, he is focussed, he inspires his team, he is very competitive, he wants to win.

Nice guys can win, being nice and competitive can work together, life is not a zero sum game.

PS: This is a web analytics blog and this is a rare off-topic post.

But if you are visiting for web analytics content, here are the top five posts on this blog in the last eight months of its existence (measured simply by number of page views):

# 1: Seven Steps to Creating a Data Driven Decision Making Culture.

# 2: The 10 / 90 Rule for Magnificent Web Analytics Success.

# 3: How to Choose a Web Analytics Tool: A Radical Alternative.

# 4: Top Ten: Signs You Are A Great Analyst.

# 5: Data Quality Sucks, Let’s Just Get Over It.

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