Does it have to be one or the other? In the final analysis, it is entirely your choice. It does not matter that the whole world is saying that if you are in politics you cannot be a human. If you want to be in politics and yet it is important that you maintain your humanity, then, you simply have to persist with your humanity. Any reader of the Quran will tell you that God had already warned us that the demons will wait for us at every corner to way lay us. So, you have to choose – do you want to be a servant of God or a servant of the demon?
And who says that a servant of God cannot be of service while he maintains his humanity? Look at the world around us. Surely it is not the animalistic politicians that are responsible for the sustenance of human beings? None of them can make the rain come down or stop the downpour. Neither can they make the sun rise or set. Everything that is truly important to you and me is taken care of by “an invisible hand”. However, when things go wrong, like wars, food shortages, lack of housing, etc, we can see the handiwork of the demonic politicians.
Most of us do not even have the chance to personally meet or to know these politicians (which may actually be a good thing). They too hardly touch our lives on a personal level. They do not sit down with you and talk over your problems, do they? When you are short of some cash, you run to your family or friends for rescue not them. When you are sick, who takes care of you? With them hardly affecting your personal lives, have you ever wondered why some citizens place them on pedestals of assumed respect? In fact to the politicians, you are just part of the faceless crowd that they need to show support, to clap and to make their presence noticed. That is why they hardly TALK TO YOU but they TALK DOWN TO YOU. Empathy is a humane quality. Politicians lack that.
It really does not matter that the whole world says you are idealistic if you do not subscribe to the animalistic nature of current politics. Raperas would readily know the difference between what is perceived as pragmatic and what is “right”. Pragmatism is often a tool for the demon to fool the people with short term solutions that will only bring forth long term ruin. It is pragmatic that the citizens are given sweets every time there is an election even though you do not get it when it is really needed. It is pragmatic that one politician must necessarily disagree with another politician from another party even though it is in the national interest.
It is pragmatic that the opponent be “killed off” by any means even though the methods are completely animalistic. When you sit down and analyse the “pragmatic methods” used by these animalistic politicians in almost every sphere of their empty lives, you cannot decide whether to laugh or cry. What makes the dilemma even greater is the frenzy with which the respective uninformed political supporters swamp around their respective “leaders” supporting the pragmatic moves. I always contend that life will be their best teacher and it never fails to teach well.
Raperas must recognize the outmoded, borrowed political philosophies that we faithfully carry on in this country – that too not fully understanding it. I recall a young aspiring politician in this country who does not seem to understand the concept of philosophical foundations. He got into the thick of things and picked up animalistic political behavior thinking that is the norm. I pray that him being still young, he will be short on pride and arrogance and will allow his humility to grow. Perhaps with the sprouting of humility he may learn. The young must be allowed to grow and learn from their mistakes.
Humanity means the quality of being humane; the kind feelings, dispositions, and sympathies of human; especially, a disposition to relieve persons or animals in distress, and to treat all creatures with kindness and tenderness. Is this antithesis to politics? If you think so, then you are simply expressing your own inner preferences but excusing it away as a ‘practical outlook’. Surely there must be a difference between recognizing that current political climate is animalistic and outmoded and, condoning it as normal. To me, it is an aberration.
There has to be real change in political thought. We have to move forward. This has to start with the people themselves, especially the Raperas. We have to understand and accept that humanity does not have to be sacrificed at the altar of politics.
Raperas must reject any politician that sacrifices humanity for political expediency and gain. Hopefully, through such action and awareness among the people, more politicians will be motivated to cultivate their humanity.
PEACE.
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