Optimism to the fore

It was my friend Rima’s birthday. I rang her.

“If you are calling to wish me a happy year, don’t bother. I am permanently oppressed, suppressed and highly depressed.”

“Oh. Why?”

“Need you actually ask?”

So let me dwell a little on why I am not feeling any of the above. Of course, we are badly off and we are furious with our politicians for putting us in this mess but we are so much better off than much of the world that I feel a note of optimism must be injected into this daily litany of doom.

I do not accept the recent comment that we are the 15th most unhappy country in the world. Who compiles these weird statistics? Sri Lankans are happy-go-lucky by nature. Of course when they are starving it is difficult to be cheerful but it is against our nature to be down for too long and if there is a miasmic cloud floating about that defies dispersal let us try other methods.

Our media has the tools to help. I strongly suggest that the front-page headline be ones of cheerfulness and the present perplexing political doings be relegated to page two. For instance the news that two Junior Sports women won Gold medals at an Asian Competition would mightily cheer me up. As things are, however, the antics of some of our Ministers bring a furious wobble to my morning coffee.

The front pages should Ignore minor infractions that are of no interest to the people …Here are some of the useless pieces of information correspondents seem to think readers find interesting. Teachers and Principals are regularly being sued for abuse of students. Since names of teachers and Principals are never given there is no shame attached to their disgraceful behaviour. Why does the press keep repeating what has become a regular pattern in our outstation schools?

Politicians ridiculous statements simply serve to make us realise how stupid most of them are. The educated few should be encouraged to get together, declare an election and probably WIN with the FULL support of the Media. (The non-corruptible few that is).

The Media can be one of the important implements of chastisement. Corrupt political deals should be highlighted and the ministers and officials involved MUST be mentioned by NAME. There must be a FOLLOW UP to all these riveting tales of horror. What happened to the Gold Smuggler? Why was he not hounded out of Parliament? Why are we forced to listen to the inane babbling of parliamentarians as they argue over trivialities? Lately the House was arguing over the exact meaning of the word ‘Sorry’. Truly the ways of politicians are imponderable.

Happy reporting is the need of the hour. Happy and successful incidents are still happening. Report THEM. Instead, we now face a daily dose of political histrionics enacted by small men of no intelligence. Now, to get back to encouraging cheerfulness.

There is much for which we can be happy. Millions of people in the world have NOTHING. Immigrants are inundating Europe making it uncomfortable in extreme for those governments to handle. Countries are either being flooded or have no water at all. Others are fighting unquenchable fires causing populations to lose all they have. Women are oppressed. Religious minorities (anti Semitism for example) are on the rise and there is great shortage of decent living even in ‘advanced’ countries. Sri Lankans are fortunate indeed as they experience none of the above.

I do not understand the brain drain. Surely, Sri Lanka is not so badly off that we cannot weather this storm together? If we had a government which we could totally trust the memories of past horrors would dissipate. Fortunately, humans have that ability. Foreign television channels tell terrible tales seeking to make out that Sri Lanka is in desperate straits. But we are not as badly off as millions elsewhere. We are slowly pulling ourselves together. We could do better if elections were held and these uneducated and immoral politicians were swept away. But are we not better off than we were three months ago?

Our President is not doing too badly despite some unpopular appointments which are probably forced on him. One must admit he has handled the crisis sensibly. I daily bless our young Minister, Kanchana Wijesekara, for his masterly handling of the energy portfolio. So, let the Media provide us with a massive dose of optimism which will raise our adrenalin to comfortable functioning levels. Let us raise our national mood to one of insouciance which will display an optimism that will result in a definite and positively felt change in our fortunes. Attitudes are SO important.

I read recently in the papers that the President helped two students from Jaffna to attend the “International Criminal Court (Moot) competition” in the Hague. Here is something we would like to hear more about. Our students are clever and these two will probably acquit themselves extremely well. A fine headline.

Here is another one. The Symphony Orchestra recently marked 75 years of Diplomacy with a brilliant Concert. The orchestra gave up their own profits to benefit the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. All Cultural activity and the PERSONALITIES involved are so much more interesting than news of teachers and Principals misbehaving in the provinces.

The Media can tell us about happy doings in the country (with names). Sporting details, competitions between schools of non-sporting activities …. women who are have made interesting careers and lives for themselves …. the list is endless. Just yesterday I heard a name I have not heard before of a lady who lives in Badulla and has published a book in the UK titled “Doppelgangers”. An interesting story surely?

The Media should focus on being POSITIVE, INTERESTING and UPLIFTING whenever possible. What a help the Media could be if properly used to raise the mood and welfare of a struggling people instead of proceeding along inexorable parallel lines of gloom forever.

Obviously political doings need transparency. No one has been more critical than myself about certain aspects but there is no doubt that criticism all the time with no deserving praise is self defeating. There is much that deserves praise.

Let us take the streamlining of the Passport Office. What a boon to us. Why is that not given top billing? Then the ID Office I believe has been greatly modernised. The President seems to be ensuring that Government servants begin to run well oiled offices rather than haphazardly and carelessly carrying out duties to the great inconvenience of the patient public.

Our politicians present imperviously innocent faces to the public with little or no shame. Do they imagine we have forgotten their misdeeds? Our President wears an imperturbable air of confidence. This is strangely reassuring these days I must admit. But he is an exception. He has slowly grown into the job despite being assailed on all sides for the sheer lack of rationale over his appointment.

There is a game a few of us play among ourselves. I shall open it to readers. The game we find fascinating is choosing a cabinet of worthwhile members from among the public figures we know. Some are non-political but we imagine a country with men of ability, education, moral and upright character at the help of affairs. A Utopian dream, but we can always hope. I cannot stress strongly enough how ashamed we are of the behaviour of our parliamentarians. They rarely listen to each other speaking, they make calls on their mobiles while a member is speaking, they answer phones, they chat to each other while important points are being discussed, they even fall asleep occasionally.

So here is what we must do and copy the seating methods of the British House of Commons. Rebuild the seats of the House so that parliamentarians are forced to sit straight and in a somewhat perched manner. They are not there to be comfortable. They are there to WORK. Rebuild those seats so that they are much narrower. The parliamentarian speakers will be gratified by the apparent attentiveness of their audience and any attempt of those lazy members to close their eyes may result in an embarrassing tumble. Let them be objects of ridicule without turning every debate into a social event for themselves.

And finally, PLEASE let the daily headlines give is HOPE and OPTIMISM for the future. Inculcate true patriotism by using the Press to guide our thoughts along REAL restructuring of our ambitions for this lovely island of ours. It is well within our grasp. Let the Press take the lead.

Goolbai Gunasekara