Stop Blaming Politicians
Meaningful change doesn’t come from bashing elected leaders.
Countries develop through generations. Nearly every Sri Lankan politician since independence have failed our country and led us down a dark precipice into our current predicament. But our collective response should not be a widespread vilification of our politicians; most of whom are simply staying true to their own beliefs and value systems which favour self-enrichment, power-hunger, and greed for Sri Lanka’s material riches, above a genuine desire to improve the lives of its citizens. If we are to ever escape a continual descent into chaos and the throes of a failed state, our efforts must rather be directed now into bringing up our next generation of politicians — across schools and homes — with the same values we expect of our leaders.
Waiting and hoping for politicians to suddenly change and develop altruistic principles this late in their lives — when all they’ve known is a lifetime of self-serving — is a fool’s errand. We could always drive them off their posts (as long as democracy remains intact), only to be replaced by others who are equally inept, equally corrupt, and equally dishonest. True reform of our entire system of governance and legislation — with the welfare of people front and centre — requires a dynamic group of individuals who are invested in those same set of values and vision, in order to see through its execution. No amount of elections will bring about compelling change if we keep electing the same people who’ve failed us over and over. We deserve better, but we all have a bigger role to play if we ever dare to achieve it.
Our educational system is completely broken. Both public and private schools keep regurgitating ideas which have been obsolete for decades. School curriculums must introduce progressive concepts, instil curiosity for scientific discovery, and provide the requisite knowledge and tools to explore advanced technologies if we are to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving world, or risk being eaten up and chewed out by larger powers with dominant geo-political agendas. While these changes are only possible through a comprehensive reformation of our entire educational system, it us unfortunate that the people in charge of enacting such reforms are the ones most threatened by its consequences. And so the cycle keeps repeating. Until we start somewhere closer to home.
As parents, we have a bigger role to play than simply bringing up our children in a safe environment. Much more emphasis is needed to make them net-contributors to society than net-beneficiaries. See the President you want for your country in your daughter’s eyes, or the Prime Minister in the manner of your son. If more of us bring up our children to be useful members of society, and cultivate in them the progressive, open-minded, and humane values which are hallmarks of a truly developed country, we would have fulfilled our greatest contribution to our motherland — one that no amount of bickering and political bashing on social media would supplant — for we needn’t play the victim card of a broken political system, when it’s in fact we the people, that hold sway its true power.
