Dear Editor,
I am stumped.
If the public service is depoliticized and social cohesion crawls to some trace of reality (both very high improbabilities), then what is the relevance of political parties as we have and know them? Where is the place for them in the social and political firmament? How can they function? More specifically, what rewards are left to provide the needed incentives to run, compete, and triumph in the domestic dogfights?
Quite frankly, if the raison d’ȇtre, the juicy plums, are sharply curtailed or removed altogether, then prestige and power that come from governing are nonexistent. Given the meagre pickings remaining, it is not worth the effort if the pot of gold becomes a pot of brass. Or shall we say, contrary to standing practice.
While these developments (de-politicization and cohesion) have a nice mellow ring to them, I can hear those affected ‒ along with those who can be in the future ‒ saying what to do with the job. That is, where to shove it. Such is the parody of paper and the mischief incorporated in solemn manifestoes.
Incidentally, I do hope that the observant have noticed the earlier stirrings surrounding social cohesion have settled for the normalcy of a quick unresisting fade. Maybe it was doomed to such anyway, given that there were very few takers, wherever one looked, or listened. Oh well…
It seems that we do have an endless capacity for making fun of one another, and to titillate and tease each other through a steady diet of crude cruel jokes. Except that undeniable reality steps in when the strained laughter recedes. What happens then, if not more of the same? It is way too early, but precious trust and hope are threatened by disillusion.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
