Walk the talk, practise what you preach
What happens often in Sri Lanka especially what happened on May Day is an indication of the bankruptcy of Sri Lanka’s party politics, which has degenerated to its most disgraceful levels. Instead of working out a charter or other benefits for workers, May Day was disfigured into a campaign against the United Nations Panel report calling for an international probe on alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the last few weeks of the war in 2009. Particularly ironic or sad was the fact that the once vibrant socialist parties in the United People’s Freedom Alliance government – parties like the LSSP, the CP and the NSSP also put the workers and the state of the economy on the sidelines and joined the emotional hype or hysteria against the UN Panel report.
Most of Sri Lanka’s party politicians were obviously seeking personal glory and gain at the expense of millions of poor people. They seem to think that most of the Sri Lankans are fools or that they can prove Abraham Lincoln wrong and fool all the people all the time. But since independence the sovereign people of this country have proved they are no fools but are at times vulnerable to third-grade politicians who misuse or abuse power and plunder the resources of the country.
This state of affairs could be traced back to 1931 when Sri Lankans including women were given universal adult franchise. But were the people of the country mature enough at that time to make not just a choice but an informed choice.
Over the years since 1931 with the British having divided and ruled the country and having had a system based on ethnicity to name officials to participate in government, most of the post 1931 leaders wooed the electorate using feelings and emotions instead of facts and realities. Hence the use or misuse of language, race of religion for party political gain. Even the candidates were often selected on the basis of their ability to win the votes of vulnerable people.
Looking back it is obvious that Sri Lanka has paid a heavy and bloody price for this. Soon after Independence the D.S. Senanayake government disenfranchised the people of Indian origin. In 1956 we had the tragedy of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike selling the slogan of Sinhala only in 24 hours obviously to grab power. The rest is history – teriible, tragic history and millions of people have paid an unbearable price for the hypocrisy and double games of party politicians. Most of them most of the time acted and are still acting as whitewashed sepulchers or sanctimonious humbugs. We are in the aftermath of one of the bloodiest wars that any country faced. Even in this context our so- called leaders are trying to use vulnerable people to achieve their ulterior objectives of clinging to power.
This and even the so-called development plans offered to the people show the bankruptcy of party politics. We often wonder what the leaders of the four religions in the country are doing. It is necessary for a country like ours that spiritual values are translated into action. We need to walk the talk as spiritual people with other-centered values and not allow party politicians to ruin the country any further.
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