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The one who does not abuse power is the most powerful one. The real power lies in one’s personal authenticity and intergrity.
Politicians tend to corrupt society by not behaving magnanimously. There is an urgent need for political leadership by example not by verbosity or self-glorification. Political conduct is an ethical conduct and political behaviour is an ethical behaviour. One can never hide who one is. Behavior reveals one’s character and integrity. Conduct speaks louder than propaganda. Everything shows who they really are.
Every politician, regardless of her or his party line, runs the risk of corrupting society by insisting on staying power. How many politicians could we really name who served the country honestly without even stealing a single rupee from public funds? How many of them are not known for their profligate spending habits? Every politician ought to examine his or her conscience at least from time to time. Politicians are supposed to be servants not robbers or thugs. Politician is the one who is supposed to be a constant blessing to people by his or her deeds, words and conduct. But, if one cannot be a constant blessing, at least one should not become a burden to people.
Why do Sri Lankan politicians have to brag and boast about their track records if they have performed magnificently? If a politician has truly served people, he or she has nothing to propagate about. People will recognize and reward them accordingly and handsomely. Real service needs no propaganda one way or another. Propaganda always has another agenda. It is about one’s bloated ego and one’s libido to remain in power at any cost. The more they try to justify their performance, the more dubious and problematic such justifications appear. In Sri Lanka today there are no great political speeches but only monologues of self- glorifications. What can be observed is political indoctrination with the help of a few slogans. Sloganeering gradually leads to depoliticization, obstructs critical discussions that facilitate meaningful political actions and brands people with strange and self- serving titles.
On the other hand, even if one has truly served the country, people have a sovereign right to reject him or her during elections. It is the prerogative of a people. Since people are not under obligation whatsoever to elect them and politicians must have cultivated enough humility to accept this truth. Politicians must not impose too much of themselves on people; let people choose freely. When something is imposed upon people, their inherent freedom to choose has been taken away.
Politics in Sri Lanka, more than anything else, is about politicians not about the suffering masses. We need politicians with impeccable integrity whose hearts bleed for the poor. Politics in the real sense of the word is about caring for the people. It is about feeding the hungry, quenching the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoners, educating the children, comforting the afflicted, healing the sick, caring for the victims and housing the homeless. The essence of politics is deep compassion even for one’s
political enemies. There is a need for leaders who possess deep political compassion, sensitivity, infinite humility and empathy, who are not afraid to commit mistakes but humble enough to accept them and who are risk takers on behalf of the suffering masses.
Politicians are above all servants of people not masters or lords but unfortunately no politician seems to have understood it adequately. As long as they do not behave as such they have not grasped its meaning existentially. To understand something is to practise it concretely.
Since 1980s the Sri Lanka parliament has become a kindergarten for adult children where they bicker childishly and play to their hearts’ content. Tell me how a politician behaves in the parliament and I will tell you who she or he is. The parliament has become a microcosm of contemporary Sri Lankan culture. Does anybody want a glimpse of collective character of Sri Lanka? Well, take a closer look at Sri Lankan parliament. It reveals a lot as to who we are collectively at present and also it has failed to produce serious state men and state women with class, elegance, character and brilliance.
There is a need to purify and humanize Sri Lanka political culture. We need a “Copernican revolution” in all strata of political landscape; judiciary, executive and legislative. Politics is not for the sake of politicians but for people. Who really benefits mostly from politics? Who really gets prosperous and rich? People have a right to reclaim their benefits from the clutches and iron- fists of power hungry politicians. Sri Lankans seem to be a politically complacent lot. Why do our people remain aloof and indifferent when our politicians do not properly serve them? We do not demand much from politicians.
What we have is an aberration of democratic values and praxis. This aberration has become the norm that nobody seems to have noticed seriously. The politicians usually have a certain agenda (however praiseworthy or noble it may be) and they seek people’s support, approval and vote for it. It need be the other way around in a representative democracy. It is people’s agenda that the politicians should be executing. Politicians must never forget this simple truth, that is, even without legislative power one can serve people perfectly well.
In and through propaganda, politicians are serving and feeding their own egos. What we have largely is egotics not politics. Every politician in Sri Lanka seems to have an inflated or monstrous ego. Every politician has become an egotician. Every one of them tends to feed one’s ego endlessly. On top of this we also have a very ugly sub-culture of cut-outs. Who, then, really benefits from cut-outs? Service to humanity needs no propaganda. Propaganda is always ambiguous. Cut-outs are icons of self- glorification. Compassion is not something that can be advertised in a piece-meal fashion.
I cannot help but feel that the vast majority of Sri Lanka politicians are suffering from a deep-seated inferiority complex. The lower their self-esteem is, the greater their projection and self-glorification become. The majority of Sri Lankans could hardly eat three meals a day and what benefits have they gained from these cut-outs? Our politicians seem to value propaganda over people. We need politicians who are simple, humble, dedicated and refined, not the ones who wear gold and diamond rings and necklaces while people continue to starve.
One’s political dignity comes from one’s simplicity, integrity and humility. Real leaders never abuse their power. The one who abuses power is no longer powerful. Such a person has already shown his or her weakness by abusing power. Abusers can never become good leaders. The one who is not power hungry is the most qualified to hold an office or lead a country. Every leader who abuses power has certainly lost his or her credibility and is unqualified to hold any public office and people have every right to reject them.
by Professor Anton Meemana
