yes. i think the photo of the Prez in today’s DM wearing a t-shirt, cap and sarong and ‘ploughing’ the field says it all. re: the UNP / Ranil – i am not quite sure if they are able to emulate people connection that Mahinder has. it disappoints me when oppositions try to lessen their differentiations with the ruling party, for political points. anyway – i think we broadly agree.

but re: singapore, again – i think it’s important to question Lee Kuan Yew’s statement a little more. What does “better” mean? Call me selfish, but am kind of glad Sri Lanka isn’t like Singapore…

@sittingnut,

A big big hug to you, sittingnut.

imo only a person who is totally disconnected from reality of sri lanka or is willfully blind will say that fight against ltte terror is mere warmongering and is a result of populist nationalist rhetoric.

it is a good thing that unp is at last facing the reality even partially .

others will live on in denial and cover their eyes .

when do these others realize that rhetoric and propaganda only works (except for very short periods ) if there is something substantial behind it ? sri lankan public is aware of that substance. that is why they respond to it . in fact they respond negatively to more professionally created rhetoric and propaganda from opposite side . as unp is learning perhaps too late.

may these willfully blind ppl should ask themselves why sri lankans respond that way instead of believing that sri lankan public are complete idiots easily led like sheep.

but i suspect they are willfully blind and engage in hysterical comic rountine bc of their insecurity. they see that they are losing their corrupt grip on power to others ( perhaps just as corrupt) but from differnet classes . well unfortunately for them this is a democracy and it will remain one in piste of them

I would not call the people of Sri Lanka ‘idiots’ by any means, but the reality is that there is an inherent disconnect between knowing what it takes to develop a country, prudent economic management etc. and the knowledge that the voting masses of any country hold. Ignorance is the word I am looking for I suppose. The reality is that it is relatively easy to hoodwink people, anywhere in the world. One can have zero knowledge on the ways of visionary, disciplined and coherent national administration, but in Sri Lanka, if you speak and act with charisma, dress traditionally, portray yourself as a ‘man of the people’, get photographs taken of yourself holding children and cultivating the fields, and portray your opponents as LTTE-sympathizers, little else matters in winning elections. So those who, due to their capabilities, do deserve to come to power, have every right to do a little ‘bad’ in order to achieve their goal if it means securing the greater good.
But as you said, the question of the extent of this ‘bad’ is a completely different and unpredictable story.

Lee Kuan Yew, the Prime Minister of Singapore who tranformed the country from an underdeveloped piece of land to a booming world economic hub, said, ‘I don’t care about what Human Rights Watch and other countries accuse me of…at the end of the day I ask them: Is singapore a better country today than yesterday?’

“Because that is what the game of politics is about.”

I think you’ve hit a nail in to the coffin.

“No matter how much we all hate politics and politicians, the truth is that our country, lives, and future are significantly dependent on it/them.”

I don’t know why this should be the case, but maybe it’s too difficult to change this status. So, let’s hit down another nail.

“It (the UNP) also knows that honesty will never win elections these days.”

Three nails.

“But in the end these are all just words.”

It’s always all words, though. When do we start believing words? Bang bang – another nail.

“Doing a little ‘bad’ to secure a greater good for the benefit of all is completely justified in my opinion.”

Maybe – but when does one stop doing a little ‘bad’? And who keeps a check on that? That’s five nails.

Um – I am not sure what we are burying here. Maybe it’s Ranil, or the UNP, or politics as we know it in most of parts of the world, or justice, or freedom, or principles, or just another dead body.

Either way, I think there’s something wrong when people entrusted with power treat the people who live in the country like idiots.

In forgiving a little ‘bad’, perhaps we will end up burying the whole of Sri Lanka.

The UNP has realized that if it is to ever win an election, it will need to regain the trust of the Sinhala Buddhist electorate and shed the image that the JVP and JHU have successfully painted it with during previous campaigns. It also knows that honesty will never win elections these days. They are beginning to play Mahinda’s dirty game, fighting fire with fire. Promises mean nothing, and the UNP has realized this. They have dropped the federal idea and promised to revise the CFA and pursue a military solution if necessary. But in the end these are all just words. Just like how MR promised during his campaign to provide essential food items at next to nothing prices, Ranil now realizes that a little dishonesty can’t hurt if it means winning an election. Afterall, he can do whatever he wants when he comes to power. Doing a little ‘bad’ to secure a greater good for the benefit of all is completely justified in my opinion. Some people call it lying, others call it cunning.