Get national priorities and values right 

by Fr. Augustine Fernando,-January 28, 2016, 9:02 pm

Diocese of Badulla

We have democratically chosen to uphold human dignity and human rights and follow a sober path of living in mutual concord, mutual forgiveness, reconciliation, justice and peace, after a fratricidal war. Yet we seem to have only begun this path of progress and advancement. While the majority of the people have clearly opted to strike out on a new path some politicians now ensconced in power seem to be hesitant and reluctant to take the decisions they very well know to be right as there are many challenges that need to be faced and obstacles to be overcome. Politicians who have lost power are happy to muddy the water further and fish in it. This is so because complete sanity has not been recovered and trust restored and not all are fully sober and calm. All do not have a long term vision of national solidarity that transcends narrow divisions. Some are self-righteous, blind and obstinately biased. They need education and enlightenment on the truth of humanness, solidarity, justice, fairness and unity in humanity and avoidance of long-drawn recrimination. The Government as a whole need to unitedly educate and persuade the people to face the bitter truths of the present state of affairs if they wish to set Sri Lanka on a path of recovery.

NO ONE IS BORN RIGHTEOUS    

No one comes into the world with an inborn righteousness. Though everyone is born with a potential capacity for reasonableness and virtuous living and even to strive towards bravery, courage and heroism, human beings are also prone to evil, even of the highest magnitude, unless the upbringing fashions a social being to mature in rhythm with the better part of humanity. Just as 1% of humanity have gained control of the resources equal to that of the rest of humanity, a few Sri Lankans too have amassed wealth to be in the company of the unmindfull rich 1%. Evidently this highly lop-sided human situation is a phenomenon of not only injustice and extremely unfair distribution of wealth, it is a result of ignorance based on an under-developed and indifferent social consciousness. This type of consciousness leaves the well-to-do smugly self-satisfied. It is a situation that calls for rethinking and reordering the fundamentals of human living on the planet earth which has to be immediately attended to by nation builders and statesmen who look on humanity as a whole, assisted by economists, sociologists, community and religious leaders, if humanity is not to face a desperate blind alley with unimaginable consequences.

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