Apologies from a President?

Much fanfare has been made of an apology extended by the president of the Pearl to the denizens therein. Such an occurrence they say has never happened before. In fact, Sorry and Thank You are words that I was once told, didn’t exist in the native language until recently. More on that later. So, the fearless leader of the country has apologised (very conditionally may I add) for errors he MAY have made and of course for all the errors his subordinates HAVE DEFINITELY made. This would be assumed includes his brothers, nephews, and all other members of the clan and of course the “earthworms” in parliament and all those assorted “catchers” who occupy positions of power and doubtful prestige.

Possible and probable “mistakes”, (read as bad decisions) have been made. This is from a bunch that was voted in with a two-thirds majority by this “O SO” literate population of the Pearl. What are the consequences? Or, do we live in a world without consequences, a world where the mere mention of an apology is sufficient for a government (if it can be called such) to carry on dishing out more of the same to a long-suffering “Bovanisque” population, which will no doubt be followed by another such “apology”, or worse a show of force from a battle-hardened army when things exacerbate?

In an ideal world, the admittance of a mistake and or incompetence will be followed by the resignation of the person or persons responsible. In this case, the all-powerful executive president IS responsible. Or, is responsibility another word that doesn’t exist in the native language? At the very least the upcoming litany of lies that passes for the annual budget will be defeated in parliament and the result will be another general election. This outcome is out of the question as the “earthworms” are well fed and fully occupied with procreation and providing comfort (read as the Sinhala word SAPA!) to their kith and kin. Is there nothing that can be done by the general population (who are unable to go on – thousands of rupees for a kg of milk powder!) in these circumstances? After all, we do have a semblance of democracy around, don’t we? Isn’t this what the opposition should be looking at using whatever scant resources and brainpower that is available to them?

Even in this “teledrama” world that those in the Pearl live in, cannot the leader take RESPONSIBILITY and realise that the script can no longer be manipulated to have a happy ending. The CABAL (pun intended) of script writers have run out of fantasies! This is reality and the present form of governance has FAILED. We are looking at anarchy and mayhem. It is time to call a halt and ask the people to make another choice, either from those that are in front of them or from divine sources that are being referred to by soothsayers. (There is talk of a “Diyasen Kumaraya” who is going to emerge from among us!). Of course, the avid following that charlatans’ who make such predictions have on the internet and U tube may simply be an indication of the level of desperation of the people. Reverting to beliefs and rituals of the Middle Ages does not bode well for the level of literacy of the populace. But then again, close analysis shows that it has always been a very thin layer of mostly foreign thinking that has kept us away from what was construed to be “Pagan” rituals and beliefs.

There are no quick fixes, the disaster that we are facing in the Pearl cannot be rectified by the wave of a magic wand. It will take drastic changes in society and in the thinking and expectations and indeed the education of the people. But let the people vote for what they think is the solution and then back that solution with all the “heart and soul” of the majority. Isn’t that the very essence of democracy?

Holding on to POWER without responsibility seems to be the name of the game. One hopes that saner counsel will prevail, at least from progeny living abroad. Especially with the advent of another generation, the belief that capitulation could maybe help the next generation avoid the possible consequences of the curses being rained upon the present generation, may (we hope) influence a favourable outcome for the Pearl.

Going back to the Sinhala language. I find that it is now the trend to talk of the past in the present tense. For example, instead of saying I went to a place a few years ago and encountered a situation the current trend is to say a few years ago I am going to this place and then I am encountering this situation, etc. I hope you can decipher what I am trying to say dear reader, but I believe this kind of talk originated in the temples during sermons and I wonder why? When my generation learned the Sinhala language, we were taught a past tense but today the past seems to be in the present. It leaves me mystified. I hope a scholar of the language takes the time to read this humble missive and is able to offer some sort of explanation. I for one will be most grateful as a reasonable explanation will help me to tolerate and even listen to the rhetoric that is emanating from those who have dreams of leadership. They all seem to speak in this manner, now I know the past achievement of our country are much better than the present (!) but is talking in this way a solution?!!

Sticking to the days of learning the language, of my generation, there used to be a parody made of expressing an apology. When one said sorry in Sinhala without really meaning it, one said “SOURY AAAH” (the words were expressed with a degree of sarcasm and even some contempt) and to be frank this apology from the President has the same connotations.