Open Forum
New Delhi, 26 August 2010
Need Good People
DON’T REDUCE POLITICS TO A JOKE
By V.S. Dharma Kumar
Why do people have a poor opinion of politicians? Why do
they view them as unreliable, misleading, pretentious and self-centred? And why
is that most people believe that the vast majority of the politicians aren’t
capable of doing anything other than throwing tantrums at will?
Politicians get a bad name, being judged by the worst
excesses of a very small minority like the woman MLC in Bihar
who threw flower pots all over the place and then pretended to have fainted. In
fact, there is a mocking populism to hating politicians. And there is also the scornful
suggestion that people enter politics for personal gain. Sadly, this view has gained
further currency with the recent issue of pay rise for MPs in the news.
It is the relentless lampooning, satirizing, making jokes
about politicians that has led to their having a very poor image. And this poor
public image, created through such mockery and comedy, is seriously dissuading
the best talent to the profession of politics.
Politics is the art of governing,
especially that of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration
and control of its internal and external affairs. Failure to attract the
right type of people into such an important public affair can do serious harm
to the nation’s interests. Clearly, there is a political talent drain. Worse,
the failure to take note of it will do further damage to the nation.
A pertinent question could be: Is it possible to run a
country without politicians having power? When the aim is to give power to the people,
who else is better qualified than the politicians? Indeed, someone must have
the power. Imagine for a moment that the power the politicians wield today is
transferred to the Army or the bureaucrats. The two never face an election
after their selection. The most powerful man in the world is not a General but
a politician and in all democratic countries, it is the latter who controls
both military and bureaucratic power.
Importantly, mocking of politicians goes back a
long way. It can be traced to the very foundation of democracy in ancient Athens in around 500 BC—the first-ever known
democracy. But today, the situation has surpassed all
imagination. It is all very well for the public and the media to keep the peoples’
servants under constant watch. What is not right is ridiculing them for no rhyme
or reason.
One such example is the jokes on the Internet. A
sample: A busload of politicians was driving down a country road. The bus ran
off the road and dashed against a tree and crashed into an old farmer’s field.
The farmer, after seeing what happened, proceeded to dig a big pit to bury the
politicians. A few days later, the local sheriff came to the crash site and
asked the old farmer: “Were they all dead?” The old farmer replied, “Well, some
of them said they weren’t, but you know how the politicians’ lie!”
The big question then is: Why do the politicians
lie? Are they pathological liars? No. They tell lies for the same reason as
most of us do. It can be for money or for votes. Another explanation is that
people expect too much from the politicians, forgetting that politics is too
complicated a landscape and that no one can survive it by telling only the truth.
Here the best survival tactic is to embellish both facts and lies.
Sadly, the world-over, politicians are apparently
regarded as accomplished liars. Take the example of the annual competition held
in Cumbria, England, for
telling lies. While competitors from around the world participate, politicians
and lawyers are barred because they are judged to be too skilled at telling
lies!
Not enough, there is another joke on robbing politicians: In New York, a
mugger jumped into the path of a well-dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs.
“Give me your money!” he demanded. Indignant, the affluent man replied, “You
can’t do this — I’m a US
Congressman!” “In that case,” replied
the robber, “give me MY money!” Whether we like it or not jokes on politicians
are galore and politician-bashing appears to be a favourite pastime of the entertainment
industry be it in New York or New Delhi.
However, a good thing about politicians is that they relish
jokes, even if they are about them. They do not throw people into prison for
poking fun at them. And, in India,
ridiculing politicians seems to be on the increase. No matter what, politicians
may lie and they may rob, but they continue to occupy offices of great
authority. And this is world-over.
But by indulging too much in this harmless hobby, an
unfortunate impression has gone down that political leaders have lost
credibility, politics is the last refuge of scoundrels. I have had the
privilege of seeing them from close quarters and working for some of the
leading politicians of the country. I have a different point of view.
The great thing about the politician’s job is that if we
happen to differ with him for his lack of ability or corruption, we can simply
vote him out of public office. They lose their jobs faster than anybody else
does. How many top civil servants have lost their jobs for incompetence or
dishonesty? Politicians work long hours. They see less of their family members
than bureaucrats do.
They earn far less than most corporate executives. Imagine
the number of people an MP will have to meet every day and imagine the number
of problems his constituents bring before him. Also imagine the number of
public meetings, weddings and funerals he attends. Politicians are helping
hands. They help us in our need and take our request to the national level.
They are hard working people.
Above all imagine the difficulty of first getting a ticket
for contesting. The profession of
politics is no exemption. There are politicians who have become corrupt and
stopped caring for the people. Over the past few decades they have devalued
public service. No democracy in the world can boast of 100 per cent clean
politicians. It is unfair to say that politics is the last refuge of scoundrels
or, only losers in other professions enter it.
Today’s talented and upright youngsters should look at
politics as a career option. If good people do not join politics, men with
money and muscle power will take over and that will be disastrous for the
nation. If the forum of politicians is to be expanded, more active members will
be needed. But seeing the ridicule heaped on the politicians, how can one
expect well-qualified and upright people enter this profession? ---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
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