Democracy. This word has become the number one choice for anyone to pull out whenever they cant/don't want to explain themselves. Our corrupt rulers pull out this word whenever someone questions them on their failures to deliver on their promises. Our media pulls it out whenever they want a certain agenda promoted. It seems whenever a certain agenda needs to be put forward without any room for questioning, it becomes a matter of Democracy.
What the hell is this Democracy? In Pakistan, people choose leaders, mostly through irrational wonts, as opposed to informed decisions or a desire for the greater good. Consequently, democratically elected leaders forget about their promises as soon as they are elected. What is the recourse for the people when it becomes abundantly clear the democratic leaders have strayed? Re-elections? Putting aside the practical limitations of this, what about accountability for broken promises? Or for anything else for that matter? What other profession lets one off scot-free after one repeatedly demonstrates not being able to deliver on what one proposed at the time of selection, let alone going off scot-free with huge bonuses (illicit or otherwise)? The only other thing that comes to mind is the upper echelons of the worlds financial entities. Of course, the rules are the same there too.
And all the while these Public Servants treat the public worse than most people treat their servants. The masses pay them taxes so they can stay up to date with the latest in luxuries money can buy. Ambulances make way for their massive entourages, and the immense security apparatus keeps them shielded from little inconveniences such as traffic signals and traffic jams. The masses pay for their huge mansions and lavish furnishings and embellishments. Comparing this lifestyle to that of their counterparts in certain modern developed countries, where the common people are actually getting something out of the deal, boggles the mind.
The simple fact of the matter is we don’t need democracy in Pakistan. We need competent people who can deliver on a well thought out plan to put this country back on track. Competent people who solve real world problems. Engineers from all strata of the engineering spectrum. Analysts and economists. Free thinkers and philosophers. Whether you need democracy as a crutch to support this notion is not the point. Democratically elected governments the world over are proving time and again they couldn't care less about the majority opinion as long as their own agenda is being taken care of.
Democratic governments are increasingly creating more and more layers of abstraction, both in their Public facing agendas as well as their institutions. The masses are electing their civil liberties right out into oblivion, in the name of Freedom and Democracy. The right to question a democratic government on its intents, by the very same demos (people) that elected it, is non-existent. Democracy as a magically self-correcting mechanism to uphold the wishes of the people simply does not exist. The question of whether or not the masses are capable of knowing what to wish for or what is good for them is moot. That was answered when the same masses elected these democratic leaders.
Democracy (the word) and perhaps the generally accepted implementation mechanisms behind it have become utterly worthless. Day in and day out one is forced to look on in disgust as these vile politicians grace each and every talk show with their presence, putting up tabloid fodder fights in the name of their honorable leaders without really getting anywhere, only to play the democracy card whenever someone calls them on their agendas and lies thinly disguised as solutions to problems they themselves created in the first place.
These politicians, most of whose qualifications may only be sufficient enough to have them clean toilets in most meritocracies, are here to solve the nations problems through democracy. Can they? Applying even the most basic of performance evaluation systems over their past performance and its consequences can give you an answer. But of course, this realm is void of any commonsensical approaches to define performance.
When accountability does come, it only comes when their agenda is disturbed from within. The masses are appeased by putting up a show and hanging someone, in most cases someone who takes the fall for many others behind the scenes. It serves the purpose and accountability is shown, in most cases cloaked in transgressions closer to the hearts of the masses. The ignorant masses have their faith restored in the system, and the agenda (hidden as well as public) is upheld, albeit with many concessions.
Suggesting that the current system might be broken is an incredulous notion for not only those in power, but sadly also those under said power. So much so that they start insulting your intelligence by just hinting at such an idea. The irony of supporting the same system again and expecting different results is lost on their intelligence. Some of the more intelligent ones may say the system is open to change and anyone who has the answers is welcome to join. But simply the fact that neither someone with an ideological framework forbidding them to stoop to the level required to compete in this system nor anyone not having the financial muscle to bankroll massive palm-greasing campaigns and other similar expenses can win in this system hints at a system that is not at all open to change. It sounds more like a system that has built in mechanisms to resist change.
Money. Money matters. It’s the only thing that matters. If one has enough wealth, one is automatically qualified to save the nation from its problems. Never mind the conflicts of interest. Never mind the fact that these moneygrubbing, power-hungry feudal imbeciles are the root cause of most of this nations problems in the first place. As long as their overlords (local or foreign) are getting their payments (in blood or money, or both), democracy is being fulfilled.
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