An impatient populace and getting bored of soap operas

The impatient voter thinks that he can change the existing regime through a few posts on social media. (File photo)  

Most of the people back then wanted roads and not necessarily ‘good’ roads. In the same vein, we wanted a new president each time a regime failed, but not necessarily an efficient president

Sri Lankans are generally impatient by nature. We have paid the price for this; mostly at elections. And the individuals who have capitalised on this nature are the politicians. 

But is there scope to change this nature in us? There is an advertisement carried on the television about how short-lived dreams of migrating can be when one tries to reach Australia by boat. And the final catch-phrase in this advertisement is ‘don’t be in a hurry to make your last journey’. 

Now people are whispering short-comings of this government and the need to topple it. People of this country had the patience till the civil war concluded and parts of the ‘Temple of Tooth’ were restored to their normal state after this religious institution was bombed by tiger rebels. Buddhists in this country are showing no urgency to see the next enlightened individual appear after realising the truth and preach lessons on Dhamma to them. But we show no patience in our hunt made in search of the next leader who can lead a government. 

Many are of the opinion that the present president is the right choice for a country like Sri Lanka. There is an old saying that ‘a country gets the leader it deserves’. Probably then, we got the corrupt leaders who ruled us in the past because we too were either corrupt or were kept silent in the face of corruption taking place in front of our own eyes. With the majority of the people of this country, the latter was true. 

But then we have Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) now. The Executive President wants to rebuild this country with his clean Sri Lanka project. The question raised now is whether the majority of the people in Sri Lanka are clean themselves and wish to have a clean leader? 

Many moons ago, when Mahinda Rajapaksa was president, people of this country waited with much hope when new roads were built in war-torn areas and transport facilities were enhanced. But when some of those roads were cracking up prematurely, their users realised that the road makers had done a hurried job. Most of the people back then wanted roads and not necessarily ‘good’ roads. In the same vein, we wanted a new president each time a regime failed, but not necessarily an efficient president. 

The problem with efficient presidents is that he demands changes. This president is testing our patience. This is because he has not sent some of the ‘big fish’ highlighted for corruption and unlawful deals to prison. This is how people think in a layman’s terms. 

Yes, yes Mr. President we know that it’s not your job to put wrongdoers behind bars and that there is a court of law existing to determine when and how a person convicted of a crime should be punished. But then again we are running out of patience. People with wisdom reiterate that every problem has a solution and time is a great healer. But one cannot possibly make a trip to the estate sector community and preach these words of wisdom to them. This is because their problems haven’t been sorted, despite Tamil labourers from India still continuing their fight for a decent daily wage and better living conditions 200 years after arriving in this island. So some problems will not be sorted out despite giving them time. 

There is a common characteristic in the agitated television viewer who watches the soap opera Devani Inima (The second innings) and the impatient voter. Both these people think that they have the power (through the use of social media) to halt a TV programme and change a government they dislike with a few posts. When soap operas are aired on television it creates an industry for artistes and presents many job opportunities. This present regime is slowly making us cultivate patience and close the doors on corrupt individuals. It is also creating opportunities for the educated individuals to join government initiatives and contribute to the national economy. 

Still it’s a little difficult to turn this country around. We are a nation which heads to the closest fruit stall to buy fruits ripened prematurely through the use of Calcium Carbide. We are a country where there are enough individuals who cannot wait till the right career progress comes to start going to work by car; many who impatiently purchase cars on lease agreements default payments and lose ‘their’ vehicles. Now we see young students not being able to wait till their writing matures with age and practice and resort to short cuts like using AI. 

Impatience doesn’t bring a payback time. It’s the patient man who learns lessons on patience from the vulture, who eventually wins. The lawmakers of this country may have to change their stance on governance if the people of this nation embrace patience!