The glass: half full or half empty?

A statement that has been used as a judge for optimism or the lack of it usually, called pessimism.
But is it really that? Isn't optimism an excuse for being lazy! Isn't it an excuse for not striving to make the glass FULL!
Somehow i feel my country as gotten stuck in the half full rut! We are all a bunch of optimists... all we like to do is rationalise the lack of that half glass of water. A struggling India, supposedly shining, but still limping. A common conversation i recall where two parties are arguing about India's development over the years, comparing it with that of United States or for that matter Singapore... sooner or later a point comes up - 'we were ruled by the Britishers for 400yrs, they took all that we had!!'... 'we got our independence just a little more than 60yrs ago... i think we have done well for such short time.'
A standard case of half full or half empty! We boast about our technologists, doctors, architects, scientists all propelling growth around the world... then why is it that we are taking soo long to grow? When we start to talk of potential, everyone is proud of India and Indians... 10 yrs back as kids we were told that within 10yrs India will be a super power, you are the future of that super power... 10 yrs later which is NOW... we still are far from being what we think is a super power(read USA). But then we have made a lot of progress in these sixty years, but is it even close to our potential?
Is our democracy pulling us down, or is it just our attitude that says whoa the glass is half full, is it the indian mindset of 'chalta hai' ... is that even our mindset or something we have acquired on our way to no where! Or am i just thinking too much, the glass is more full than it could have been... but then i dont think we are over achievers in any form! Yea a lot of you might not like that statement... but what do we have to prove... what have we done that has not been done, what have we achieved.. well we have quite a lot... but what have we over achieved?
We have the IIT's and the IIM's, supposedly the worlds most premier institutes, atleast one of the toughest to get into... but they all still don't rank in the worlds TOP 50! Wonder why... i really do!
We have a good education system so to say... still a good percentage(around 40%) does not cross class 5! wonder why...
But then you will accuse me of being pessimistic... but SIXTY FRIGGIN YEARS of independence... can we not expect uninterrupted electricity??? or atleast education for all... yea it's a law but can we finally really implement it!

Ask me is the glass half full or half empty and i'd say... why is it fall!! where is the other half??? IT IS HALF EMPTY AND WHY?????????

i don't have answers... i just have ideas.. i have dreams.. of a perfect world... more importantly i have questions... and my most important question is...'The glass is still half empty... and why???'