Sense & Insensibility
Promises, promises everywhere...
We promise not to block the roads!
SOME naughty Englishman had said "promises are made to be broken and lies are meant to be kept." What a wicked thought, indeed! When we the plebeians try not to break a pledge we so solemnly make on matters of personal or national importance, the power-mongers are quick to make promises and even quicker to break them. While our conscience is pricked at our own folly, theirs remain as healthy as that of a tiger that has just devoured a human. When this ephemeral endowment, called "conscience," in many humans stands between them and acquiring temporal power, many others merrily throw theirs in the garbage bin to wield the baton of power until they are thrown in jails. Sine the dawn of civilisation, power has drowned more men and women than the seven seas have done. And yet, power allures humans to their doom, just as the spirits on the Isle of the Sirens did when Odysseus sailed by. Power has been described by different men in different ways through the millennia and yet this English word remains more as a metaphoric euphemism than anything substantive in connotation. Thomas Jefferson said: " I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be." By golly! If he were alive today he would have hidden this quote under the bedroom rug. How could one use power less? Talk about how it can be used more, sir. And our good old sage Plato has to say something that would send politicians rolling down the floor laughing. He is inviting philosophers to become politicians and politicians to become philosophers! In his own words: "There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands." Ok, here is something interesting, rather thought-provoking, from someone we would not rate as a great philosopher. On the contrary, he is someone who has punched on others' noses to become rich and famous. Yet, contemplate as you read his words, and you might find it amazing how a man like him can think the way he did. "Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even." Well, these are the words of great boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Will someone please explain the esoteric meaning to those who play with power and destroy innocent lives? But, as always, the master, the maestro, the wizard, has the last word on every credible and incredible thing on earth. This uncannily un-matched and indisputable sage is none other than George Bernard Shaw, and he may sound a bit cynical, as you will read the following words. He writes: "Our laws make law impossible; our liberties destroy all freedom; our property is organised robbery; our morality an impudent hypocrisy; our wisdom is administered by inexperienced or mal-experienced dupes; our power wielded by cowards and weaklings; and our honour false in all its points. I am an enemy of the existing order for good reasons." By Jove! Had Shaw been alive today and uttered these words in public he would have been charged under the Special Power Act! Perfidy, eh? So, the season of promises has come to Bangladesh. And with it have come out the "birds of fair promises." They are dishing out promises of every hue before the credulous public. Right now, as I am writing this piece sitting in my room at Karwan Bazaar, my eardrums are being constantly pierced by high decimal sound emanating from the microphones all around. Yes, you guessed correctly. Some political leaders have chosen the office hours to scream at the top of their voices to let us know what is good for us. They are also constructing podiums blocking main roads right before the eyes of the EC. It has blind eyes, maybe. What new things have politicians to say to the nation? Haven't they said these same things again and again before every election? Let us take one case. Someone said the Special Power Act would be repealed. Bravo! It had been said before by all the political parties. But have they ever talked about it when in power? No, sir, they never did. They are also talking about making the judiciary independent. Great! But, tell us, why didn't you do it when you were in power in phases in last fifteen years? So, why should we believe that you will do it this time around? You said you will fight terrorism. But records show that terrorism was given shelter and support during the rule of the democratically elected governments in last fifteen years. You have created the monster, now you wish to destroy it when it has become too powerful. You are trying to get out of its grip, as it is about to devour you! Strange indeed that you never lent an ear when we cried hoarse about the manifest danger as it lurked behind bushes.
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