- 28 Jun 2012 18:19
#13994975
In the current political and economic whirlwind we are experiencing as Indians, I believe it is evident that it is time for some serious changes to take place in the way we govern and go about living in this world. There are many problems we have in this country that, when looked at seriously, warrant some relatively drastic changes in order to even begin changing them.
However, we at YouthDemocracy believe the dominant issue of our nation and youth today, is our political outlook. We have not elevated ourselves from our dispositions towards a hierarchal rule. One of our most powerful leaders is the foreigner wife of a past Prime Mister. Her son, a man without direction, has also managed to reach a position of prominence. We have placed into power the entire lineage of Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime minister. These individuals have not reached such heights in politics because of their service to our country. They did so because they were the son of, daughter of, wife of or essentially related to Jawaharlal Nehru. If we so ardently believe in lineage over service, then should we not have remained a monarchy?
A Democracy is a ‘social contract’ to which each citizen is a party. If we do not play our part, the whole society falls apart. As citizens, we have the privilege and a duty to choose our leaders. They represent an extension of our ideals. These men and women are supposed to fulfill our necessities. When they do not, the fault does not lie in those leaders the fault lies in us. Paraphrasing the words of Batman’s butler, ‘during our times of desperation, we turned to men we did not fully understand.’
Now, the question is why did this happen? To understand, we have to analyze our political outlook. When you ask Indians about politics, they tend to either have a subdued opinion, no opinion or in the rare case a strong opinion. The ones with a subdued opinion are the cause for greatest concern. In my conversations with many friends, acquaintances, and surprisingly even elders, I have come to realize they share a common outlook. They unanimously believe that politics is a ‘bhrashtachar ka daldal’ or in English, a quicksand of corruption. They believe everyone is corrupt, if someone is new to politics then they will undoubtedly become corrupt. So when you ask them, whom would they support? They voice the age old saying ‘better a known devil then an unknown one.’ They do not form a real opinion because they do not see the point to it. Thus, they have come to see their leaders as separate from themselves. Our politicians should serve as the citizen’s representatives. The citizens should not serve as the politicians vote bank.
In such dark times, we do not need more information on our leaders but instead we need the tools to better analyze them. Just as rhetoric’s improves the quality of writing, similarly we need tools to improve our political outlook. We need tools that help us understand our needs and find a leader who can best cater to them. If we feel insecure, we need to support a leader who can decrease crime rate and improve national security. When our fear is the falling forest cover, we need a leader who cares for the environment. In all cases, our leaders need to match our necessities. YouthDemocracy hopes to provide these tools. We are students from math, science, law and various other fields trying to find the means and implement the tools necessary for such an endeavor. We are doing the research, so that you can make a decision.
http://www.youthdemocracy.in
However, we at YouthDemocracy believe the dominant issue of our nation and youth today, is our political outlook. We have not elevated ourselves from our dispositions towards a hierarchal rule. One of our most powerful leaders is the foreigner wife of a past Prime Mister. Her son, a man without direction, has also managed to reach a position of prominence. We have placed into power the entire lineage of Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime minister. These individuals have not reached such heights in politics because of their service to our country. They did so because they were the son of, daughter of, wife of or essentially related to Jawaharlal Nehru. If we so ardently believe in lineage over service, then should we not have remained a monarchy?
A Democracy is a ‘social contract’ to which each citizen is a party. If we do not play our part, the whole society falls apart. As citizens, we have the privilege and a duty to choose our leaders. They represent an extension of our ideals. These men and women are supposed to fulfill our necessities. When they do not, the fault does not lie in those leaders the fault lies in us. Paraphrasing the words of Batman’s butler, ‘during our times of desperation, we turned to men we did not fully understand.’
Now, the question is why did this happen? To understand, we have to analyze our political outlook. When you ask Indians about politics, they tend to either have a subdued opinion, no opinion or in the rare case a strong opinion. The ones with a subdued opinion are the cause for greatest concern. In my conversations with many friends, acquaintances, and surprisingly even elders, I have come to realize they share a common outlook. They unanimously believe that politics is a ‘bhrashtachar ka daldal’ or in English, a quicksand of corruption. They believe everyone is corrupt, if someone is new to politics then they will undoubtedly become corrupt. So when you ask them, whom would they support? They voice the age old saying ‘better a known devil then an unknown one.’ They do not form a real opinion because they do not see the point to it. Thus, they have come to see their leaders as separate from themselves. Our politicians should serve as the citizen’s representatives. The citizens should not serve as the politicians vote bank.
In such dark times, we do not need more information on our leaders but instead we need the tools to better analyze them. Just as rhetoric’s improves the quality of writing, similarly we need tools to improve our political outlook. We need tools that help us understand our needs and find a leader who can best cater to them. If we feel insecure, we need to support a leader who can decrease crime rate and improve national security. When our fear is the falling forest cover, we need a leader who cares for the environment. In all cases, our leaders need to match our necessities. YouthDemocracy hopes to provide these tools. We are students from math, science, law and various other fields trying to find the means and implement the tools necessary for such an endeavor. We are doing the research, so that you can make a decision.
http://www.youthdemocracy.in
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