WAITING FOR OUR BARACK OBAMA.

Let me start this by reproducing today's (23/Jan/2009) GT editorial captioned:

"Waiting for our Barack Obama", which I feel does justice to my earlier piece 'The Obama Effect ' Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 1:48 PM

The 44th president of the United States of America Barack Obama took oath at a time when America was looking for political renewal and a way to make a clean cut from the past years when the country was afflicted with the disease of self interest and was ruled by self seeking politicians. In his inaugural speech, Obama bluntly told the American people, "Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some ...." He further warned, "that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous". When he said, "... those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism..." he laid bare the guiding principles of his presidency. We understand that politics is the art of compromise, but in Obama lives the aspiration of a new generation of Americans and world citizens hungry for honesty and an end to a corrupt world that places self interests above society and nation.

More than America this disease of self interest has afflicted India and Goa as well, where the outcome of elections is determined by money and the ability of politicians to balance the petty interest of individuals and pressure groups with personal interests. Today, in Goa almost every MLA is a crorepati or on the verge of becoming one and the thought of standing for an election without a huge reservoir of funds is unthinkable. A lament often heard is that there is no place for an honest person in politics, because the people simply won't elect him or her. Corruption of the soul does not start and end with the politician. It has deeper roots which reach down to the people. We have been overtaken by a spiritual and moral degradation. In the case of America the people voted overwhelmingly for Obama because he symbolized a change from the decadent and misguided approach of the Bush Administration. In electing Obama, Americans sought to redeem themselves. How do we redeem ourselves when the people themselves have embraced corruption? How can we break the what's-in-it-for-me attitude and replace it with civic-mindedness? How can the salt of the earth regain its taste?

Last month, well known columnist, writer and journalist Kushwant Singh referred to the role played by intellectuals like Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzche, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Leo Tolstoy, Jean-Paul Sartre and Bertrand Russel in Europe and the United States. India toohad its share of intellectuals, however, their influence is marginal. Singh assigns two reasons for the failure of intellectuals to influence society in India. One is that they wrote in English, which only 10 per cent of the population understands and secondly, the vast majority of people in India look up to their gurus, godmen and priests because they speak there language. The knowledge of these gurus is limited, as a result, "Their congregations return to their homes contented and at peace with themselves because they do not have to wrestle with new ideas. That is why caste distinction persist, foeticide is widely practiced and we continue to breed at a suicidal rate. Our gurus never deal with such social problems. "We could easily add corruption and self-interest to the list.

In Goa we have heard of several instances when those placed in charge of our spiritual well-being have accepted large sums of money from politicians in return for delivering votes of the congregation. We need to make a clean break with the past, but for that to happen we must let go of self-interest and focus on the civic well being of all. The rule must first apply to me and then to my neighbour. We must be the change that we wish to see in society. The question before us is not whether a person who embodies the qualities that we celebrate in Obama exists in India or Goa, but that, if he does exist would we have the courage to elect him?

COMMENTS

The Goa Su-Raj Party wholeheartedly appreciates this piece of excellent editorial. Apart from two most important things the editor has said, (1) "In Goa we have heard of several instances when those placed in charge of our spiritual well-being have accepted large sums of money from politicians in return for delivering votes of the congregation" a line that this party has always been saying with utmost conviction that priests were not only bribed with fat donations but also with brand new cars and computer work stations et al.. and (2) "We must be the change that we wish to see in society" ... which line appears at the bottom of this Party's letter-heads, a quote from Mahatma Gandhi", this party would like to answer the question which is posed by the editor when he says " The question before us is not whether a person who embodies the qualities that we celebrate in Obama exists in India or Goa, but that, if he does exist would we have the courage to elect him?

Our answer is "Obama does exist in Goa, not as an individual but as an entity called the Goa Su-Raj Party and the later part of the question is, in all sincerity, very very potent. Each Goan must try and answer it with sincerity that it takes to revolutionize the way Goa is governed.

Going back to the 2007 Assembly Elections of Goa, the undersigned avidly remembers the conversation reproduced herebelow that he had with this very editor of the above marvelous piece, which will expose the contradictions vis a vis the above write-up from the same man. We are glad to note that a lot of water has flown under the Mandovi Bridges since then and now and needless to say that we appreciate the changed attitude.

This tele-conversation emanated when the undersigned expected one of the Party's important press releases to appear in the GT but did not.

Hello Derek,
Hi Florian,
Derek, I have issued a press statement which I feel is important that your readers see it. Why has it not appeared? Any problem?
Florian, tell me, does your party have any relevance?
Dereck, what do you mean? You have lost me.
Florian, how many elections did your party contest so far and how many votes did you get?
Dereck, GSRP contested eight seats in 2002 and aggregated 1500 votes. In 2005 it contested a single seat in the 5 constituency by-elections and aggregated 206 votes.
Florian, that is exactly what I mean. Your party has no relevance.
Derek, this is very interesting coming from you. Not to be uptight and not to be offensive, let me say that you are a better humour columnist than an editor. But you don't know head or tale of what politics is all about. You please do me a favour. Take that press statement and throw it out of your window. As an after thought, I feel that you should flush it down the toilet for better effect.

End of the tele-conversation.

I must say that today I find that Derek is as good an editor as he is humour columnist.
Cheers Derek, no hard feelings :-))

floriano
goasuraj

BRAVO FOR ROSARY FERNS TIATRO.

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Posted by maicher to G O A at January 22, 2009