For the love of Freedom...

How much does a couple of packs of cigarette cost? A bottle of beer at your favourite pub? A coffee from CCD? A lip gloss by Maybelline? Are you ready to spare an equal amount, as a one time thing, towards the protection of freedom?

For those of you who have the habit of Googling things, you would have noticed that, in most of the cases, one of the top 10 search results would be a link to Wikipedia (or one of its sister websites). Recently, Wikipedia has put up a new pop-up banner in their site. It goes like this -

Dear Wikipedia readers: We are the small non-profit that runs the #5 website in the world. We have only 150 staff but serve 450 million users, and have costs like any other top site: servers, power, rent, programs, and staff. Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind, a place we can all go to think and learn. To protect our independence, we'll never run ads. We take no government funds. We run on donations averaging about Rs. 1500. If everyone reading this gave Rs. 100, our fundraiser would be done within an hour. If Wikipedia is useful to you, take one minute to keep it online another year. Please help us forget fundraising and get back to Wikipedia. Thank you.

If you believe in the freedom of speech; the idea that information should be available without boundaries or curbs or limitations by the law, please do your bit for keeping the Wiki group sites running. The fight for freedom doesn't always require loud, flashy slogans or protests in the streets. Sometimes, all it requires is a few clicks.

Here are the different Ways to Give.

Social Etiquette Vs Brutal Honesty

When you have to choose between the above two, which one would you choose? The social retard that I am, I chose the latter. And see what happened!

Case 1: A few days back

Tring Tring

I pick my phone. The screen displays the name Ms. X. I pick the call.

X: Hi! (Excited)
Me: Hi
X: Uh? Hmmm. I called you to tell about my marriage!!! (More excitement)
Me: Okieeee (Read: longer than the usual)
X: It's on this 20th. It is at ABC. It's a Sunday. You should come. P knows the place. You could come with him........
Me: I won't be coming. It has been three weeks since I went home. Plus, have a theatre festival going on in my hometown. I want to be there too.
X: What?? You could have at least said that you would come and then, not have come.
Me: Is that what you wanted?

Click.


Case 2: A few hours back, over SMS

Y: :-) i hope u hv a better Sunday
Me: I doubt it.
Y: How cynical of u to crush my hopes for u to hv a better Sunday! Some ppl i tel u!



Still, I prefer to go by the latter. I rest my case.