It is true that many democratic governments are rampant with corruption due to self-seeking politicians indulging in political horse-trading and lining their pockets insensitive to the needs of their constituents who elected them. Most of the world’s democracies are still in their infancy, therefore not mature, and have a long way to grow into maturity. The few so-called democracies in Islamic countries are theocracies in the cloak of democracies. In the past. many Christian nations were also such, but have painfully started emerging as democracies. United Nations today (June 18, 2011) voted for the first time for equal rights for persons with different sexual orientation. While China abstained, I cannot understand Russia joining Islamic members of the UN Council in voting against the resolution.
No human being needs to be discriminated against on the basis of gender or gender orientation. I also cannot understand why India, China, and Russia have not joined other world powers in supporting democratic forces in Libya against a dictator of some forty years. I maintain that a bad democracy is better than a benevolent dictator or monarch. We have to go through the pangs of labor to birth a democracy. For the short-term gain we cannot sacrifice the long-term goal. We need to keep in mind Patrick Henry who said: “Give me liberty or give me death”. We have to create basic structures before we can build on them. Currently our education is geared to getting lucrative jobs. Education also has become a profit-making commercial enterprise. We do not have thebasic structures of thorough education and training for forming conscience, human relations, non-violent conflict resolution, dispute mediation, living in a multi-cultural, multi-religious society, civic living and civic sense and duties, respectful disagreements and tolerance without compromising one’s values, ethics and professional affairs.
Good manners such as standing in a queue for receiving service in a store or office or taking turns to yield while driving are not in evidence. Kerala roads, for instance, are notorious circus venues for drivers in utter disregard for rules of safety. Kerala drivers, most of who are currently very uncouth, ignorant, and selfish, can become the best drivers in the world if they follow some basic traffic rules for safety. What I said about Kerala drivers holds true for most drivers in developing countries. This problem is not seen in developed countries because generally sufficient roads needed for the traffic are well laid out and maintained. The developing countries are going through a transitional stage. They have not mastered problems of littering, waste management, overcrowding of vehicles on a few roads that are narrow, dangerous, and full of pot-holes.
The world I would like to live in is a world where freedom, justice, equality, love, fairness, thoughtfulness, kindness, compassionate relating, and empathic living flourish. There is no physical or emotional abuse of any kind. Everyone is respected and everyone is given one’s due. It is a mature democracy; it brings forth the best in every person helping everyone to actualize and become what one is capable of; non-violent conflict resolution, mediation rather than litigation, promotion of quality of life through medical sciences rather than sheer prolongation of life prevail. We have to get this world right lest we perish; we have to make it safe and secure for us as well as for future generations.
Previous: -The World as I See