They say the silent majority has spoken. They say this is democracy in its full glory. That a single swallow would not make a whole summer. The loud and verbose cannot hoodwink the masses with their rhetorics and statistics. After all, they, the elitists and the deep-pocketed, only make a small portion of the general public. The 99% do not share the same sentiment as the top 1%. They do not care what the foreign policy is or who does what to whom in the name of justice or freedom. They are interested only in bread and butter issues. They want their continued way of life, their style of doing things and their rights. And they saw through the media bulldozing of intelligentsia agenda and meaningless smokescreen. Did they really? Do they not expect some decorum of their leaders, some politeness in speech and inclusiveness in leadership? Are they persuaded by his media presence, his fast talk, his ability to go down to their level to speak their lingo?
Some say that people are stupid, that they think with heart or sometimes at groyne level. If you look back in history, many leaders have been saying this as well. Sayyid Qutb, a leading member of Egypt's Islamic Brotherhood, had said after his short stint in American for his sabbatical that people generally do not know what they want. They need a knowledgeable and strong leader for them to pave the way. This sentiment was echoed by Steve Jobs when someone asked whether people would like his product. He had replied, "... people do not know what they want, we will show them what they want and like!". Schopenhauer posits that we pick our choices not with our minds but with other primal urges.
The self-proclaimed 'know-it-all' thinkers think that big decisions involving repercussions of world proportions or even our civilisation should not be left to the commoners. The public is viewed as sheep easily herded to march to the slaughter, or perhaps like the mice or children who follow like zombies to the tune of the Piped Piper! But hey, this democracy. The government of the people, elected by the people to serve the people. Ironically when a politician wins the elections, they conveniently forget the third part.
Now that storm is over or is it just beginning, or it is the eye of the storm? Time will tell. Meanwhile, the sun still rises for the mortals to strive another day. It is reconciliation time...
Some say that people are stupid, that they think with heart or sometimes at groyne level. If you look back in history, many leaders have been saying this as well. Sayyid Qutb, a leading member of Egypt's Islamic Brotherhood, had said after his short stint in American for his sabbatical that people generally do not know what they want. They need a knowledgeable and strong leader for them to pave the way. This sentiment was echoed by Steve Jobs when someone asked whether people would like his product. He had replied, "... people do not know what they want, we will show them what they want and like!". Schopenhauer posits that we pick our choices not with our minds but with other primal urges.
The self-proclaimed 'know-it-all' thinkers think that big decisions involving repercussions of world proportions or even our civilisation should not be left to the commoners. The public is viewed as sheep easily herded to march to the slaughter, or perhaps like the mice or children who follow like zombies to the tune of the Piped Piper! But hey, this democracy. The government of the people, elected by the people to serve the people. Ironically when a politician wins the elections, they conveniently forget the third part.
Now that storm is over or is it just beginning, or it is the eye of the storm? Time will tell. Meanwhile, the sun still rises for the mortals to strive another day. It is reconciliation time...
Comments
Post a Comment