King Canute's call for unity
Two veteran politicians of the country, one its former president and, another, the first foreign minister, held high their clasped hands in front of cameras and made a clarion call for national unity. It has been a necessary call having a twist of irony, a lot like treating a patient with expired medicine. While the dosage is right, the medicine has lost the potency.
Our two leaders have been correct in their assessment of what the country needs. And when they raised their hands, they did it on behalf of millions of people in this country. We need to stitch together the searing fabric. But can it be done with a mere photo opportunity?
Because what we have is the King Canute strategy. It means standing on the shore and commanding the tide to stop. Neither of the two clarion callers has got enough sway on the people to initiate a serious political undertaking. Their handholding had a nice ring of symbolism to it, but the gray panthers should realistically come to terms with their own limits. It's too late in the day for them to mobilise a nationwide anything.
This is not to undermine the importance of their call or leadership. But their inherent strength is also their inherent weakness. Both are accomplished men in their professional fields. It's the same reason why their foothold in our politics has been so weak. To sum it up: the call is fervent but the voice is feeble.
The ruling party has already vowed to resist if this call ever smacks of a conspiracy. The paranoia of our politicians, who suffered during one-eleven, is comparable to that of a cow, which, once burned out of its shed, is frightened by crimson cloud. It's understandable that they worry if people are still hatching a plot to minus them again.
Be that as it may, our two leaders might want to change their strategy. It's obvious that the national unity call is an election thing. They are asking people to get united behind them and resist the undesirable forces, be it the ruling party or its opposition or others taking advantage of the prevailing chaos.
But why not aim for something more lasting? Why not concentrate on creating future leaders instead of political movements? In their limited scope, the two veteran politicians can achieve immensely more if they teach the youths of this country how to catch fish instead of giving fish to them. They should think about giving us more leaders instead of more leadership.
Because, studies show that democracy is a coefficient of vitality. Washington-based Foreign Policy magazine claims that the leaders in undemocratic countries outlive their national life expectancies by a significant margin. Those very national life expectancies, however, are already short because of the miserable way those leaders rule or lead.
God is my witness; I am not holding age against anybody. But we need fresh blood in our politics. It's said that Korean ruler Kim Jong-il spent years injecting himself with the blood of healthy youths. Scientists have now demonstrated that injections of youthful blood carry semi-magical qualities, which might prevent diseases like Alzheimer's and indeed aging itself. Scientific altruism aside, it could be a metaphor for the much needed political rejuvenation in this country.
Sadly, the youths have largely remained the tools of politics in a country of predominantly young population. A few young leaders have trickled in lately, but they have done it for all the wrong reasons. They are either scions of political families or young men who have climbed up the greasy pole of political subservience or muscle flexing. They are glib-tongued, ambitious and incisive, but deep-down inside their brand of politics performs the relay race of family or party influence, not the risky stunt of transforming politics.
Back to science, a recent report by the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that boys, as young as nine, are showing the signs of maturity. They are hitting puberty six months to two years earlier than before. Perhaps God's design is that future generations should age faster to embrace life's growing complexities.
It means nature is preparing young people to seek an early induction to the world. And, it's one thing that has been neglected in this country, which amounts to gifting a sophisticated instrument to someone without showing him how to use it. Our politicians are so busy going after power that they often forget the country. They don't realise that it will be pointless to leave behind a united country if the future generations are not ready to handle it.
The waves disobeyed Canute, who swore not to wear his crown again. A hint is enough for the wise. It always helps to put ears to the wind. Silence has spoken more eloquently than speech.
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