By Vishwamithra –

“On a group of theories one can found a school; but on a group of values one can found a culture, a civilization, a new way of living together among men.” ~ Ignazio Silone

How can one effect a system change without discarding the old system? That is the question the answer to which many a student of politics would wish to know. Is it really possible that a system change could be brought about without disposing of the old system? If it is so, can that be called a system change? Is the NPP led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake attempting to do precisely that: accomplish the impossible! A system change is usually effected after a violent revolution; it follows a totally different set of tools, different set of principles; a different philosophy; a different leadership and above all a complete breakaway from conventions and traditions. Instilling in the minds of the masses a sense of urgency and indispensability of fresh goals and newer ways to achieve those goals is a must. Educating the broad masses on preconceived lines should actually precede such a system change. It cannot be left to be done while the process is in actual flux.

Trust, a basic sense of faith and confidence, in the leadership of those who are supposed to be in charge of ushering in a new system is the foremost condition that demands to be met at the very outset.

The carefully woven tapestry is being unfolded, layer by layer. Each thread was selected according to its unique significance to the overall pattern. Those who wove it have been scrutinized for their aptitudes and skills and only those whose credentials met the strict guidelines managed to get through the rigorous process. AKD and the National People’s Power (NPP) could not afford to leave anything for granted; those who wanted to participate in the same pursuit with the leadership had to abide by the fundamentals of management principles. Taking over the harness of a nation that was driven to the edge of an abyss is not a mean task. Therefore, the principal advocates and actors need to meet the pre-qualification scores.

They have intended to chisel a new monument; they were more than eager to indulge in a harmonious balance between power and service. Is it possible for such an equilibrium to exist? If yes, is it possible to endure, withstanding all the stormy waters and wild currents? Only the future would answer that question. Drawing a country from certain catastrophe and carving out a new path on either banks of which are yet recumbent with great obstacles and impediments is not a measly task ordinary men and women can accomplish. Yet the men and women of the NPP chose to undertake such a difficult endeavor.

Nevertheless, if we expect just the NPP and its leadership would accomplish it alone, we will once again find ourselves facing certain collapse. The drama is being enacted on public stage right now; the story is unfolding; the script had been written a long time ago; the dialogues are being exchanged and the stage setup and other embellishments had been perfected to the hilt. But we have made a very crucial mistake: we have given the sole responsibility of delivering a flawless theatrical outcome to the NPP and its leadership alone.

Such an unpardonable error should not be repeated, as we have done on countless occasions in the past. The main actors and actresses are all of us. Without us, the people, the stage will be an empty space with beautiful settings, glamorous decorations, melodious orchestral music and wide and spectacular screen. The people and people alone are the main actors who would ultimately have to deliver the magnificent performance of a  lifetime.

Therefore, instead expecting AKD, Harini, Vijitha and the rest of the NPP leadership and its soldiers to guide the way, let us do the eventual needful. Let us lead the way. If we want to end corruption and bribery, let us do it ourselves. If we want a system change, let ourselves be the change. At the beginning, it may appear to be extremely hard and backbreaking, yet we cannot expect our leaders in government to take bribes, if we ourselves are at the giving end; wherever there is a giver, there is a receiver. That is the unpalatable truth.

In the past seven to eight decades, it was not only the politicians and other government officials who were corrupt; we the people were the enablers of that corruption. In our own mad rush to get things done, in order to get our children to a better school, in order to get our building permit passed, in order to win a tender for which our price was not the best and not the most profitable for the country, we engaged in oiling the right palm. Had we chosen to refuse to indulge in such pernicious and punishable endeavor, we might not have accelerated the process of corrupting our national life. Yet we did.

Now we elected to do away with such practices. AKD and NPP said that they would change the system. We not only accepted that pledge; we indicated that we too need a system change. If we demand a change from the leaders, let us demand from ourselves that change. Mere pontificating from our cushy armchairs would not help at all. As much as I write here that we the people need to change, let the NPP and its leaders demand that from the people. They must do it each time they address this issue of corruption and bribery.

When a nation goes backwards or forward, it’s not only its leaders who do that alone. The people at large do it every minute, every hour, every day and every year and decade. The process is one vast caravan, trudging its way forward without a break, without rest and without a complaint. National discipline is built in such a hard and grueling manner. We had the discipline to wait days in line for our cooking gas, diesel and petrol; we showed immense patience when we were told that the supplies were over for the day. We came back the next day. We were hardened by that cruel lap of life. We must apply the same amount of patience and same degree of discipline when we start building anew.

Having been subjected to brazen hardships and unspoken harshness of the day, we have been summoned to a new plateau. The choice is between hard-work, probably resulting in satisfaction or indolence accompanied by procrastination; it couldn’t be clearer than that.

However, the burden cannot be alone on the us the people. The leadership of the country should lead by example. No more time for preaching; no more time for sloganeering and no more time for faultfinding. A real system change is not just discarding one set of leaders with another alone. It’s not changing laws and the Constitution alone. It’s not establishing new institutions and new Commissions and Courts alone. It’s all of the above and much, much more. It is essentially introducing new values; new ideals and new thinking. That is why it should not be left only to the government and its leaders. If it’s the government of the people, for the people and by the people, we the people must be engaged in the process from alpha to omega. Then only the process gets fully circled and wholly completed.

To accomplish such a system change, we might not need to dispose of the system; we certainly need to change the substance and the process of the system.

*The writer can be reached at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com