Democracy goes to the dogs

'We agree to disagree', this seems to be the motto of mankind today. Take any issue today - from environmental protection to caste census, the world is so divided into polarized opposing camps that any consensus is impossible. And unfortunately, this is the time the world has to act if it has to survive.

What is it that causes such divisions in the society? It is not as if conflicts are products of modern age. They have existed since man was born. And the leaders have dealt with them, not always effectively, but dealt with them nevertheless.

Today, however, we see leaders who are spineless, who bend to populist pressures (instances of political leaders coming out in support of khap panchayats for the sake of a few votes) and who are, if I may say, so bereft of leadership qualities that I cannot but marvel at my fellow beings who made them leaders. Has democracy become a bane?

It appears so that indeed it has become a bane. The movements in support of khap panchayats, Tea Party are all perfectly legitimate democratic movements. So was the National Socialist (Nazi) movement too. Indeed, it is fair to remark that democracy works well as long as the leaders have the charisma to make people go through the necessary ordeals or the people are sensible enough to understand what is actually good for them. However, that no longer seems to be the case in any country now.

Take U.S for example. Everyone knows how hard it was for its President to pass the health care reform bill. He may even lose the next elections because of that. A perfectly sensible President becomes unpopular within a few months since he entered the office. Compare it with the case of its former President who was re-elected in spite of leading his country into a perfectly useless and dumb battle.

Or take the case of India. Politicians of all hues are coming out in support of the antiquated, outdated and mindless institutions known as khap panchayats. In case you haven't read, they want the Hindu Marriage Act amended to suit their wishes. And quite unfortunately, there is quite a good number of citizens who agree with them on this. So, who knows?

Now take the European Union. It somehow scraped through the last crisis. And Merkel's popularity in Germany has nosedived. So much so that the recent Presidential elections went into the third round, thanks to her rebellious partymen. Now, Merkel had to support the EU. She had no other way out. Yet she is being crucified for some decisions that as the Chancellor of Germany, she was BOUND to take.

Everybody blames the politicians whenever something goes wrong. Being a politician is a very, very thankless job, especially if you are sincere and honest. And dictators, no matter how terrible they are, always find admirers. Call it 'the incurable lure of absolute power'. Just look at the Chinese, North Korean or Cuban rulers. Or even the Russian President. They are subject to far less criticism than the U.S President, the German Chancellor or the Indian Prime Minister even though the last three are doing far better jobs in the face of more severe challenges.

Democracy works well and good in a country where citizens are sensible, intelligent and well-informed. Sensibility went to the trash bin the day social networking was invented. Intelligence had already been out of fashion since the age of teevee began. And somebody called this the 'The Age of Information' but I think they missed out the 'Mis' that came before the last word.

I hope I will survive this.