HONESTY!

HONESTY is lost - in thought, word and in deed! 

HONESTY is such a LONELY word and hardly ever heard today!!! The great Nelson Mandela was quoted “As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself. Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility!!!” It is said that HONESTY has a power that very few people can handle and it prospers in every condition of life!!! It is such a crying shame that, starting with our President, our politicians cannot understand and cultivate this beautiful trait!!! The total lack of Honesty started long before the Easter Sunday carnage, all we have to do is to look back at all the perfidy that went before – the Bond Scam, Udayangana, Jaliya, Mahendran, Aloysius, Paliasena - the list goes on and on... but they are all walking free today!!! What a tremendous boon the 21/4 blasts have been to all these goons!!!

Honesty: A forbidden word to our politicos

Thomas Jefferson said “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom,” our people do not know what it is to be ‘Honest’ – the much maligned phrase ‘Honesty is the best policy’ does not apply in the case of our politicians; they would rather not know what Honesty is, they want to do without it!!! If they were brutally honest, they would realize that the bomb blast survivours of the three churches; need to be looked after, most importantly they need to be rehabilitated!!! Has the government or even the churches done anything about putting up rehabilitation centers so these poor people can be attended to and have their psychological needs addressed??? We cannot even begin to comprehend the depths of their anguish in the context of the horror they have faced!!!

Widening Ranil-Maithri animosity

Easter carnage happened because there was a complete breakdown of command due to the animosity between the President and Prime Minister and the President leaving the country in the full knowledge of what was going to happen – this is TRUE!!! Additionally, there are others, including international powers involved that are resolutely remaining silent!!! Their plan was brilliantly orchestrated and was an unqualified success!!! The Government of Sri Lanka also helped by remaining totally silent on the tragedy that was to happen!!! The government only acknowledged this carnage by offering one million for every death and 250,000/- to the wounded – the HONEST TRUTH!!! Conversely, the Members of Parliament and Ministers are being given permits to bring in duty free cars from 10 million to 30 million; but the Ministers are unhappy until they get official cars worth 70 million – HONEST TRUTH!!! THE BOND SCAM ALONE COST THE COUNTRY 19 BILLION BUT HUMAN LIFE HAS BEEN VALUED AT ONLY ONE MILLION - HONEST TRUTH!!! THE GOVERNMENT HAD THE AUDACITY TO OFFER ONLY ONE MILLION FOR A DEATH, HUMAN LIFE IS CHEAP IN THIS PARADISE ISLE; MORE HORRENDOUSLY, A LIFE LOST DUE TO THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT!!! - HONEST TRUTH!!! IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BOMBINGS, THE COUP DE GRACE WAS TO BRING IN TWO BULLET PROOF CARS WORTH 190 MILLION!!! 

Where are the suspects??

Daily we are confronted with so many billions in cash and other assets recovered and massive hauls of weapons taken in by the Police but the non sequitur is that all these suspects are released, some almost immediately!!! HONEST TRUTH!!! WHAT PURPOSE IS ACHIEVED AND HOW IS JUSTICE SERVED??? HONESTLY, IS THERE A PRICE ON CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE???

When will our people ever learn?

 Intriguing situations keep emerging which carry threats to the sovereignty of our country and the political masterminds behind all this intrigue and deceit continue to remain totally oblivious to the impact it will have on the country and its people, as a whole!!! Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera carried out a fast to convey his displeasure that a Minister and two Governors were not removed from their posts!!! While it is commendable that he opted not to create chaos by silently conveying his protest; Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith affirmed that this problem would not have blown out of proportion if the President and Prime Minister had not aided and abetted the terrorist attacks!!! While this is true, we wonder why the government has taken so long to initiate probes on the Easter Sunday terror attacks!!! However, it is heartening to note that a Rs. 500 million fund has been established to help children disabled or orphaned due to the Easter Sunday carnage!!! Nothing concrete has yet been established and we, the people, have yet to be told the real perpetrators of this tragedy!!! In all fairness to the Muslims, we have to acknowledge that they did assist the Armed Forces in rooting out some of the individuals concerned!!! It is sad that in relation to Ven. Rathana Thera’s fast which, as we said earlier, was conducted peacefully, that some elements have found it necessary to try to create chaos by closing shops and hoisting black flags in a bid to incite the people!!! Most unfairly, Mangala Samaraweera has attributed an ulterior motive to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s visit to the fasting Ven. Rathana Thera!!! When will our people ever learn??? Can’t Mangala get it into that thick skull of his that had it not been for Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s calm clear thinking and exhortation to the Catholics, there would have been bloodshed in the country!!!

Let my country awake

I believe that what the great Rabindranath Tagore said so many aeons ago is most appropriate for our poor country today and I quote:   
Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
 Where knowledge is free;   
 Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;   
 Where words come out from the depth of truth;   
 Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;   
 Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;   
 Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;   
 Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.   
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

-THE VOICE -