Abuse political power in Sri Lanka: What is to be done

Short-sighted politics for temporary gains ought to be nailed and the politicians could be given an amnesty period to go back to their roots and confess how much money they have amassed from the national coffers.

by Piyadasa Rillagoda-Aug 14, 2018

( August 14, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The veteran short story writer Ernest Hemingway of The Old Man and the Sea fame that created the memorable character Santhiago wrote Hills Like White Elephants at a time Europe was passing through a crucial period of moral decadence.

As literary enthusiasts we owe a huge debt of gratitude to this consummate writer for leaving behind a great literary work in the genre of short story for us to read and reread about the repercussions of the modernization in the social system in the wake of urbanization, the legitimate son of industrialization, that ruined the quintessence of tranquility in the pastoral society.

Old order changeth, yielding place to new, so is said by the poet laureate Victorian Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson in his epoch-making epic Morte D’ Arthur based on the Arthurian Legend. It raises another question to be answered by so-called local politicians have you lived your life?

King Arthur on the eve of leaving for the Island of Avilion after being defeated by the traitors of his own chiefs says to his remaining minister Bedivere ‘’I have lived my life.’’ He accepted his defeat and left for the particular where he would regain good health when the salubrious climate make him cured. It is quite disgusting that most of the political leaders do not seem to relinquish power as King Arthur and bask in the past glory of victories, thus ruin themselves in the ephemeral desire of avarice and hunger for power. It is not germane in the context of ongoing politics on any land because of the very fact that the voter is more mature now than before as he is battle-hardened through the vicissitudes of body politics on this paradise isle of political hegemony. ‘Carpe diem’ was first seen in use in literature in Hemingway’s oeuvre. Simply it says ‘seize the day’! In using this most accurate term to describe the specific era of moral paralysis in Europe, the couples some other words for us to gain insight into the ongoing cultural decline. The German term of lexicology Zeitgeist was used by the writer to denote the general mood or quality of a particular period of a history as shown by the ideas, beliefs etc., and common at the time. In other words, the spirit of the time. Hedonism, pleasure is the most important thing in life, disastrously ruined the life of the youth. In seeking pleasure, they took to Debauchery like the duck to water. They were entangled virtually in an inescapable vicious circle of moral decay.

The American boy and the European girl Jig in the aforementioned piece of short story ‘Hills like white elephants’ went on their pleasure-seeking spree she became pregnant, not with thoughts, but with a child. To evade the moral obligation of legitimate fatherhood, the American boy leaves no stone unturned to abuse modern medical technology to abort the child. His naked attempt to do so is adroitly depicted by the writer for the reader to ponder on. My eye caught this piece of the masterpiece in the genre of short story in my random browsing over my golden collection of world literature which I persistently use to analyse the status quo of my paradise isle that I could dare say ‘I love my country.’

In my view, little lions in little Lanka could observe a spiralling wave of crime and an unprecedented precipitous moral paralysis not in uncertain terms. Time is opportune for the writers of all the genres to come forward to rescue the nation from the tentacles of social evils before they become more complicated to tackle.

Short-sighted politics for temporary gains ought to be nailed and the politicians could be given an amnesty period to go back to their roots and confess how much money they have amassed from the national coffers. How much time they have spent to glorify themselves for personal glory on taxpayers’ account. They could revisit their history of debauchery that has brought international ill-fame to the country of their birth. The clergy could meditate whether they have catered to the religious emancipation of the laity or more inclined towards the mundane desire of avarice as the veteran poet George Herbert aptly explained in his poem Avarice.

The common man could ponder on the fact that whether the politicians have exploited their valuable vote to abuse political power to make politics a goldmine.

The cream of the country, the university students could have rethink whether they have answered the call of the nation or merely duped by the bankrupt politicians to have a ride on them to come to power. Our donor countries could examine whether our politicians and the governments have profitably invested their donations for an extra mile in politics or to ameliorate the living conditions of the poor. Our writers could reexamine whether they have used their quill for the intellectual uplift of their readers. Our youth could come forward to give a new lead to the country under the able stewardship of trusted intellectuals. The university academia could guide the posterity to take them off the preposterous track of derailed politics. In conclusion, all the concerned parties could make a concerted effort to regain our pristine glory and one day we would be able to bask in the veritable glory!

The status quo of the country compels me to revisit the period of neoclassical period English of English poetry to gain inspiration to rekindle the national aspirations. It is discernible to this poor soul that the term ‘Carpe Diem’ has been exploited by all and sundry in the most negative sense.

‘This is the best of time’ to do the needful, my dear countrymen!