With apologies to John Steinbeck, I’d like to begin with a quote from his famous book ‘THE GRAPES OF WRATH” “I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for the Great Depression,” in our case, not the Great Depression, but the ‘The Great Oppression’ countless ‘Tags of Shame’ will not serve to bring to book those responsible here!!! They refuse to see, to accept what is right before their eyes that the safety of the people should be the highest law!!! What this President of ours does not realize is that the people of this country know him well, better than he thinks, actually!!! No, there is no shame, he rates his countrymen as fools, but they know him better than he thinks they do, after all the majority of our country are Buddhist and they remember what Gautama Buddha said “There can be no companionship with a fool;’ so watch out Mr. President, as they say “you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time!!!”
Some unknown quantities were allowed into the hallowed precincts of the PSC and apparently the PSC itself stood ‘restricted’ and ‘tongue-tied’ when they recognized those other than ‘restricted’ persons
Instead of concentrating on these mundane fools, I would like to introduce some real life advice for my readers – “Don’t be disappointed if people refuse to help you. Remember the words of Albert Einstein: “I’m thankful to all those who said ‘NO’ because of them I did it myself” LIVE, BELIEVE, INSPIRE!!! Also remember when people throw stones at you, you should never 
throw them back, use them to build your empire - Remember that critics always attack when they see potential for success; use their negativity to learn and build stronger!!! Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny!!! When you realize also that you’re constantly treating a person a lot better than they treat you, remember it is time to make a change!!!
Moving back to the absolute mundane, let’s take a look at the farcical situation that persists in the name of governance embodied in the Parliamentary Select Committee!!! Apparently, very interestingly and more so regardless of high sensitivity, some unknown quantities were allowed into the hallowed precincts of the PSC and apparently the PSC itself stood ‘restricted’ and ‘tongue-tied’ when they recognized those other than ‘restricted’ persons!!!
There is so much controversy over the ‘Death Sentence’ that it is now a much hackneyed subject, when in all sincerity it should not be!!! However, the Cabinet of Ministers has agreed to permit the Death Sentence to be revived and when we look at it from a realistic point of view, why should a person who has promoted drugs among the young, encouraged them to be addicts, raped innocent children, be allowed to walk free in jail??? According to Buddhism and, also according to Sugeeswara Senadhira, “Death Penalty to Save Future Generations from Illicit Drug Traders” which is what this column is also advocating!!! Senadhira goes on to say “While the vast majority of Sri Lankans are in favour of Executing those who are guilty of repeated Drug Smuggling, Terrorism and Child Rape, there is a vociferous small minority opposed to the Death Penalty.
While the vast majority of Sri Lankans are in favour of Executing those who are guilty of repeated Drug Smuggling, Terrorism and Child Rape, there is a vociferous small minority opposed to the Death Penalty
Some argue on Human Rights Grounds that no Human Being could deny the Right to Life of a Person. While Buddhists are divided on this issue, many point out that Nonviolence is a Basic Buddhist Principle and of the Five Precepts for laymen, the Buddha placed Panathipatha Veramani Sikkapadam the abstaining from killings as the First Precept, the Buddha did not condole killings but he did not interfere with the punishments meted out by the Kings of that Era.” This is my point exactly, who gave that murderer the right to take a life, to rape and kill an innocent child??? As much as any human being cannot and should not be denied the right to life; why should any murderer not pay with his or her life for taking a life??? The difference with the radicals is they pay with their lives for the lives they take!!!
When we look at the poverty in our country, when we look at our people who are starving, can we ask in all honesty if there is a single politician who cares, who gives a damn???
One of our journalists has asked a very pertinent question in the context of the forthcoming elections “DO PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANTS KNOW WHAT POVERTY IS?”- DO THEY INDEED??? We wonder!!! When we look at the poverty in our country, when we look at our people who are starving, can we ask in all honesty if there is a single politician who cares, who gives a damn??? Take a look at this picture and tell me if you still care??? But then, the picture says that it is -
‘THE STRONGEST PEOPLE MAKE TIME TO HELP OTHERS EVEN IF THEY ARE STRUGGLING WITH THEIR OWN PROBLEMS’ - So who among our politicians take time to help others??? Not just the orphaned children, the elderly who are homeless, the starving people – a mother who had said that she didn’t know when they last saw a packet of milk, that they never received a Samurdhi payment!!! Who is in charge of monitoring Samurdhi distribution??? Our politicians will most definitely us ‘poverty alleviation’ as one of their major political tools for canvassing votes!!!We are told by those who know that poverty is reflected even in our education system across the country!!! The day our politicians start institutionalizing ‘Walk the Talk’ then life will show them the dream to the path of reality – till then they will continue to stumble in the dark!!! They will encounter many defeats, but they must not be defeated; in fact, they must understand that it is necessary to encounter defeats so that they can know who thy really are, how they can rise from there and how they can still come out of it and lead the country!!!
We pray that their minds will be enlightened with truth, that they will be inspired with courage, and that they enrich our lives with service and be pardoned for all the wrongs they have done.
