September 28, 2011

Getting out of our bind

With democracy blowing like a fresh morning breeze through Maldives, to truly feel the difference it brings to our hearts and minds, we need to breathe this in deep and long and feel the energy it gives us. It is said that a democratic culture shatters the bonds and shackles of oppression. These shackles have always been a part of Maldivian life as evidenced from the writings of our history - both from those indegenous and those foreign. For us it has been a long history of kings and queens who filled our lives with fear and intrigue when it came to the discussion of the distribution of power in our society - nowadays called politics. Since 2008 all this seemed to have come to an end - at least on paper. And it is time that our hearts and minds begin to internalize the ideals of democracy. What is the ground-breaking split with that past this new concept of democracy signals? How has the power of the people transformed and what is the blessings of the precious vote that we have for selecting the best people to lead us? All in all one word describes the essence of this new found freedom. Its called responsibility. It is said that with great power (that comes with this freedom we call democracy) comes also the need to exercise great responsibilty. Needless to say, this power used without the rationality of responsibility will land us again into an age of oppression . Let's exercise this responsibility with the foresight and resilience that can build a similarly resilient society in Maldives. Let's wake up and become true stewards of democracy!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think it was Winston Churchill who said, "Democracy is a truly awful means of government, but it is the best one we have."