Disclaimer: This is not an enlightened social commentary. It is simply a statement of sordid facts that everyone seems to know but no one seems to say out loud.
What better day than the 5th of November to write about modern politics, and that's simply because I'm a huge fan of V for Vendetta.
Everyone beats their chest and screams about democracy, how the people have the power to change the world through electing their leaders. There are always the people who hate the current government (though in Sri Lanka, I believe every political party to be in power is hateworthy in some way), the people who try to justify its actions, and the people who just stay quiet. Is politics currently what it is meant to be? I think not.
You see, a person like you or me doing a normal job is rewarded, maybe financially, or maybe by other means, for doing that job well, right? Politicians, like you and me, are simply here to do a job that is given to them. They are not gods put upon earth to have served their every whim.
They're supposed to be doing a job, shaping the future of those they are representing and of the country as a whole.
The thing is, the reward system that benefits politicians currently, especially in Sri Lanka, doesn't really depend on how well they do their job, right? In fact, their personal outcome doesn't really depend on how well they do their job at all. A favourable personal outcome for a Sri Lankan politician depends on how much they can gain in power and money during their term of office, which then enables them to manipulate themselves into a position of power the next time an election comes around. It is an endless cycle of people being rewarded for doing exactly the opposite of what they are supposed to do in order to do a good job. Unlike us, they are never obligated to do a good job to reap any reward.
And who's to blame for all this? The people who put them in office and keep supporting this system, of course. Us.
What better day than the 5th of November to write about modern politics, and that's simply because I'm a huge fan of V for Vendetta.
Everyone beats their chest and screams about democracy, how the people have the power to change the world through electing their leaders. There are always the people who hate the current government (though in Sri Lanka, I believe every political party to be in power is hateworthy in some way), the people who try to justify its actions, and the people who just stay quiet. Is politics currently what it is meant to be? I think not.
You see, a person like you or me doing a normal job is rewarded, maybe financially, or maybe by other means, for doing that job well, right? Politicians, like you and me, are simply here to do a job that is given to them. They are not gods put upon earth to have served their every whim.
They're supposed to be doing a job, shaping the future of those they are representing and of the country as a whole.
The thing is, the reward system that benefits politicians currently, especially in Sri Lanka, doesn't really depend on how well they do their job, right? In fact, their personal outcome doesn't really depend on how well they do their job at all. A favourable personal outcome for a Sri Lankan politician depends on how much they can gain in power and money during their term of office, which then enables them to manipulate themselves into a position of power the next time an election comes around. It is an endless cycle of people being rewarded for doing exactly the opposite of what they are supposed to do in order to do a good job. Unlike us, they are never obligated to do a good job to reap any reward.
And who's to blame for all this? The people who put them in office and keep supporting this system, of course. Us.
