Today, if you say something about the nation, people immediately try to associate you with some ideology – left, right or something else. This has become a phenomenon across the country, which is an unfortunate situation because these are the mechanics of destroying a democracy.
Earlier, I used to see this in the United States and feel, “What kind of democracy is this?” There, people are already committed to being either a Democrat or a Republican. No matter what happens, they will only vote for their party.
There is a joke about this phenomenon: When a veteran Republican leader was on his deathbed, he requested, “I want to join the Democratic Party.” People said, “Not you! You have been a Republican all your life, and so were your father and your grandfather. And now on your deathbed, you want to become a Democrat?” He said, “Yes, I want to become a Democrat.” They asked, “Why?” He replied, “I would rather have one of them dying.”
Right now, only a very small percentage of the people decide the election in the United States because the rest of them are already fixed on a certain party. This is not democracy. If you belong to one party, and regardless of what happens, you are going to vote only for your party, then it is a feudalistic society, not a democratic society.
In a living democracy, you should evaluate your stance before every election, and that should never be a permanent stance. At the end of every term, each one of us should look at what the elected representatives have done. We must decide individually, and vote based on whether what they have done is good for the current situation and the future of the country.
Unfortunately, in recent years, our country’s political atmosphere is also becoming like that of the United States, where people are fixed on one particular party. This means they are not interested in democracy. When everyone knows who will vote for which party, what is the point of a secret ballot? What is the point of offering citizens the opportunity of choosing the political leadership? You might as well go back to a monarchy, where you belong to either this clan or that clan.
If you want a living democracy, the most important thing is that, except for a few party workers, the rest of the population should not be committed to any party or ideology. We must go beyond this feudalistic mindset of voting as a family, caste or religion because even if one family votes as one unit, then it is not democracy. The idea of a secret ballot is that everyone should think for themselves and vote accordingly. Otherwise, we will subvert the democratic process.
I request all citizens, particularly the young people, not to take political sides. You must debate every issue in the country, and whoever is going to offer solutions must get the vote. You should not have a pet politician of your own. Is the politician that you have elected working for the nation or themselves? This is the first thing you have to see. The second thing is, do they have the breadth of mind, intelligence and competence to create what the nation needs? And do they understand the heartbeat of this nation? If these qualities are present in a politician or a leader, it is our business to support them. If this is not there, it is our business to replace them. But after the election, whomever people elect, you must bow down to the people’s will and support them because this is the idea of democracy.
(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)
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