Orwell has said that a politician is one who says’ one thing and ‘does’ quite another. About a statesman he has said that he doesn’t ‘say’ much whereas ‘does’ a lot.
Orwell is famous for his satirical and allegorical masterpiece Animal Farm. I am quoting him here to prove a point. The breed known as ”Statesmen” no longer exists.
In this age of nuclear giants and ethical infants those we call politicians rule supreme. True to their long-standing reputation, they continue to, say’ one thing and ‘do’ quite another. They have mastered the art of deceit. Even self-deceit.
They get so accustomed to lying to others, that they end up ultimately lying to themselves. George Bush is a classic case of ‘all-pervasive’ deceit in this context. Some one has written a book titled ”Lies of George Bush” to pay rich tributes to the US President on his exceptional talent to deceive not only his audience but also himself too. Remember the pains he took to convince his nation that Saddam Hussain was actually in possession of such weapons of mass destruction that he could eliminate America at will any day. He even persuaded a decent person like Colin Powell to incorporate this ‘stunning’ information in his speech to the UN Security Council search.
Our politicians may not be as gifted as Bush in this area but they are certainly not found wanting in the art of ‘doing’ exactly opposite to what they keep on ‘saying’.
Meaning thereby that in the end with the ‘unfortunate’ exception of Imran Khan, all the ‘boycotters’ may be found running from the pillar to the post in their frantic quest for votes.
Imran Khan’s case is unfortunate” in the sense that he took the ‘boycott’ option so seriously that he didn’t bother to give even a fleeting thought to the fact that all of his ‘boycotting’ allies were quite meticulous in filing their nomination papers.
A ‘good’ and successful politician seldom closes any of his options. Imran Khan has yet to learn the art of ‘saying’ one thing and doing quite another. Resultantly he stands stranded in what we may call ‘no Man’s land’. If all the rest go to the polls, and Khan Sahib cannot, how are his admirers going to feel?
And how are the admirers of General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf’s meticulous integrity and self-less patriotism going to feel if it is not denied that a VIP plane worth $60 million (Rs 3.6 billion) has been imported to add to his ‘patriotic comfort”) Perhaps Pakistan, due to the past few years of exceptional good governance and sound financial management has grown so ‘unbearably’ rich that it simply must throw around some of its overflowing millions in pursuit of hitherto-denied but very very well-deserved luxury.
Ours is a unique country in the sense that those who are in command of its destiny do not hesitate in launching massive assaults on common sense, in order to justify their beliefs and acts.
We are regularly told that the best way to enforce true democracy in our country and society is to continue raping all the known norms and rules of democratic culture. By this logic we are indeed doing wonderfully well.
The kind of democracy, that the rest of the world practices simply doesn’t suit the special traits of our masses who due to centuries of living under colonial rule have developed a longing for oppressive environment. Right’?
(This Column was first published on 02-12-2007)
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