The Way We Are - 2

P Chidambaram is supposed to have used the phrase ‘the buck stops here’ to refer to the table of West Bengal Chief Minister. In retaliation, the Chief Minister used the phrase ‘mind your language’, the argument being, politicians don’t use slang. What is the inference? That we live in a time when politicians can perform nearly about every act of corruption known to mankind without giving a rat’s ass, but have to refrain from using slang in public.

But hey, what was the context? The Finance Minister was referring to the Mao movement in the tribal belt and the State Govt’s inability/incapacity to deal with it. Real time governance through ethical policies – the chief reason for wanting to be in Government, is passé. The govt and the people who form it are more concerned about the language (and their origins) used in pointing fingers at each other. They also remain preoccupied with the designer labels that they wear, the skin and hair parlours that they go to, the TV channels that call them for Award Ceremonies, the film stars that rally for them. The only thing they don’t bother much about is, the reason why people usually vote for them.

We live in scary times. Reality shows, song and dance, populist culture dominate societal thought process. People don’t normally aspire beyond watching a movie, reality show or a game of cricket. Those who do, think of becoming one of the stars they love to watch. And, under the shade of this same pop-culture, there is another set of people who are out to make money at any cost. They can bribe cheat or plunder for money. The good ones become mid-cap businessmen. The better ones become industrialists. The best ones ladies and gents, become politicians.

And all of the rest of us, we watch our TV shows and cricket matches while we work for them.