Mental and Moral Training for Youngsters Going for Public Offices
Dr. Jernail S. Anand | India
If the various contrivances, devices and tools in a car, are sub-standard, and in case they do not work in sync, how far will the car go? If the owner of a car thinks that when a part fails, a substandard and cheap replacement can do, he might be saving a few bucks, but who will finally suffer? The car. And if the car is run by people who are not properly trained, it is in peril, and greater dangers await it, if the man at the helm does not believe in the joy of the ride. If for him it is just a commercial transaction. A nation is no different. When public offices become hand-me-downs given without preparation, the machinery of governance falters. The citizens, like passengers in that car, bear the cost of every breakdown.
Artificial Scarcity
Already there is a down-slide from ideals to mere deals, and all those grandiose ideas of goodness, fairness, dignity and grace have taken a nosedive, leaving the field to a crass existential struggle in which, not the powerful, but the smart wins the race.
In one of my articles, I have talked about the philosophy of artificial scarcity. It is a socio-psychological construction, under which, parents do not lavish their wealth and attentions on their younger ones, rather, create a state of artificial scarcity for them, so that they learn the arts of survival, before they graduate to replace their parents in business. I have noted that this is beneficial not only for the parents, and the young ones, but also for the society, because, it is only from amongst the hardworking classes that the best specimens of society have sprung forth. How many men who made inventions or fought for ideals, came from rich households? This scarcity is the moving force in poor habitations, where people have to struggle hard for a square meal. Adversity, which appears to be a curse, is, in reality, a boon which chisels the best talents.
Leadership Roles for the Youth
When such young men are turned wastrels by parents who dote on their children, it is a shared loss for the society. The society loses grievously, when it comes to leadership roles in society and politics. A person who once comes to occupy a high public office, like MLA or Mayor, wants to continue in office for subsequent terms, and for this, they overturn all set norms. Beyond it, if they are forced to leave at the end of the term, it is their avowed aim to ensure the entry of their sons or daughters in public life.
Apparently, no law can stop them from pursuing their wishes. Moreover, it is human nature to promote one’s own blood. But, it should be remembered that the man who is promoting his own offspring must ensure whether he has imparted them mental and moral training necessary for the job they are aspiring for. People these days know how to manage numbers and please their masters, with their unquestioning service, and when needed, currency notes, and succeed in planting their offspring who have hardly any faith in public service, and who only know how his father enjoyed the amenities of his office. It is power which draws them to these positions, and, as they have not done any hard work, nor any training, they think it is an easy win, and then, we can see how they play ducks and drakes with official power, in order to create wealth. If they create huge fortunes, it is a symbol of success in this mad society. No one questions how they manage so much money. It is a sad state of affairs, which erodes trust in these offices.
Mending Mad Dreams
I do not question their right to enter public life after their father or mother. I am simply concerned that the young men who enter public life must be given rigorous training, mental and moral, so that, they know they are there to serve the society, and not to line their own pockets. Is it not expected from the family elders to inject into the hearts of the younger generations the ideals of goodness, fairness, and justice? What is success? Is it only wealth creation? Or only the amassing of powers? There are hundreds of examples in which unbecoming youngsters have entered public life, and destroyed its finesse with their unbridled ambition. History offers sobering reminders: a Roman emperor elevated his horse to the Senate not because the horse was qualified, but because the office had lost its meaning.
The ball is in the court of the social and political elders who want their sons and daughters to succeed them in public life. They should bring them up, and nurture them with good leadership qualities, and make them men of the masses, with a high inclination for social service, before they succeed them in the office. What might that training be? A year of mandatory grassroots service before contesting any election. A public ethics examination, as rigorous as any civil service test. A moratorium on family members contesting from the same seat for one term after a relative vacates it. These are not barriers to entry; they are the minimum apprenticeship conditions for a craft that shapes millions of lives.
Read: The Inversion of Intelligence
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Dr. Jernail S. Anand, with 210 books to his credit [20 epics] is a Chandigarh-based top ranking author, whose seminal work ‘Lustus: The Prince of Darkness’ challenges the moral complacency of our era. He is founding President of the International Academy of Ethics, and Laureate of Charter of Morava [Serbia], Seneca [Italy], Franz Kafka [Germany, Ukraine, Czeck Rep] and Maxim Gorky [Russia] Soka Ikeda and Mahakavi Bharati (India) Awards, his name is inscribed on the Poets’ Rock in Serbia. Email: anandjs55@yahoo.com.
