KOTA KINABALU: America is a very liberal and socially permissive society. So much so that when I was living there over a prolonged period of time I became more sympathetic to the more conservative cause of the Republicans. Coming back to Asia thereafter, almost instantaneous reverse culture shock set in, and I have since been overwhelmed by the regressive forces that constitute the sociopolitical mainstream here, so much so that nowadays I am more sympathetic to the liberal cause. It is funny how your sociopolitical outlook may shift in reaction to your surroundings.

But those are stories for another day. Here I hark back to the days in the United States when I was often glued to the television screen tuning into C-Span, the public-service channel that broadcast live the proceedings of the US House of Representatives. And there she was, Nancy Pelosi, a congresswoman from California who spoke in an often spirited manner on the floor of the US House, defending the liberal causes dear to her heart. I still could not make sense out of her Catholic faith on the one hand, and strong defense of abortion rights on the other. But in any case it was good political education for me as to how philosophical differences could be transformed into policy choices in a healthy, robust and mature democratic process.