This regime must embrace ‘possibility’

We now see how exaggeration of certain issues can contribute to panic buying

Sri Lanka is a country that is in search of the truth. This is because the majority of the islanders are Buddhists. And Buddhists are known to associate themselves with the truth and move away from myth and superstition. But are the majority of the people in this country, who are in search of the truth, wearing their thinking caps all the time? 

Many who live in America are enduring hard times under the policies and attitude of President Donald Trump. America, dubbed as the land of opportunity, is pursuing ‘possibility’ in a very unethical way in terms of dealing with relationships with other countries; especially Ukraine. Sri Lanka has so much resources and most importantly made a fresh start under a new president with a clean sheet. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has to promote the idea of viewing possibility from a nation’s perspective. This is because the lawmakers before that- who represented past governments- were very weak in sizing up opportunities and preferred to get ‘something’ out of existing circumstances. The Tsunami that struck in 2004, the aid that awaited us and how we lost those opportunities were good examples.

Before President Dissanayake came along and re-established the ‘country before self’ attitude, there was just one guy who sized up the opportunity that existed during the civil war. That person was Mahinda Rajapaksa. Several presidents before him maintained that the war against terrorism couldn’t be won. But Mahinda also saw an opportunity to be president for life if he finished off the civil war for good. Twice he won at the Presidential Elections, but someone else, in a temple in Kotte area, saw an opportunity and a possibility to send Mahinda home and end the Rajapaksa rule of this country. 

As much as Sri Lanka has potential for growth, Sri Lanka’s present regime has to negotiate the built-in feature of impatience in the general public. People who are impatient cannot see opportunities that exist even in a difficult situation. A classic example that underscores that the people of Sri Lanka haven’t learned from the country’s dismal past is the recent fuel queues that existed for about two days. When one studies the recent news segments of at least two leading television stations, we now see how exaggeration of certain issues can contribute to panic buying. Most lawmakers in the opposition know very well to exploit this weakness in the voter - which is to believe in the untruth. 

Another factor that misleads people is bogus praise. This is a country that is hooked on ‘reality shows’. Several auditions are held before contestants are selected for the main show. But in the main shows too, we see contestants who cannot really sing being showered with praise by judges. Some of these mediocre singers are told that they have a great future in the music industry. We as voters have committed the same grievous crime in voting in at least two presidents who didn’t even qualify to be clerks in cooperative society stores.

The majority of Sri Lankans are followers of Gautama Buddha. The Buddha lived during times when most spiritual gurus of India were content existing within given circumstances. Only Buddha, who was Prince Siddartha before enlightenment, saw a possibility of seeing light at the other end of the tunnel. The Buddha, when deviating from severe penance and embracing the middle path, saw much criticism aimed at him, but he stood tall without flinching. 

In this Buddha’s land (as we proclaim) there is a possibility that Sri Lanka can turn around a crippled economy and give its people better benefits. It’s good to move away from given circumstances and embrace possibility. The latter is ‘oxygen’ and it’s needed in large dosages. This regime needs the marketing skills of a sales representative. President Dissanayake has to market his plans and theories. He needs a similar guy like the sales rep who undertook a tour to Africa after another colleague from his own team turned down an assignment to promote shoes in Africa saying ‘people in Africa don’t wear shoes.’ This regime needs a promoter who sees possibilities in the most unlikely places!