'Politics, policy, leadership are not mere words to be thrown around, they decide the trajectory of our lives'
If I could manifest a wish for Nepal, it would be collective wisdom. We have so many high achievers amongst us, we have thinkers and doers, we have artists and dreamers, we are a nation of people with large and generous hearts, we are courageous and unafraid of hard work. What, perhaps, we do not have is true leaders. Leaders who truly are committed to building the country and working for collective progress and good. And yet, we are the ones who chose them to seats of authority and position.
Wisdom in politics and leadership is a crucial trait. Wisdom among communities and people is an asset. As individuals, we mostly tend to make the best decisions for ourselves in any given circumstance. But the minute we have four people coming together to make a decision, ego and assertiveness come to the forefront often resulting in a compromised decision rather than the best one. This is reflected and prevalent in the many procedures, laws, policies and rules active in the country today.
Someone has rightly pointed out that ‘an individual can be a genius but a group of geniuses becomes an idiot’. We have intelligent and charismatic politicians in the country but when they come together, disorder prevails within their own parties and within the coalitions they form. And when decisions are taken among such people, they are bound to not be the best ones. As citizens, it is also our fault that we either choose to follow blindly or descend into chaos.
In a time, when all information is at our fingertips, it is sometimes baffling that we remain inert to the poor policies and practices that are eating up our system. Bill Drayton who pioneered the concept of social entrepreneurship said, ‘There is nothing more powerful than a community acting on its own understanding’. Nothing could be truer. But it starts with first acknowledging and wanting to understand. Politics, policy, leadership are not mere words to be thrown around, they decide the trajectory of our lives. A political or business leader in position is not someone who deserves our attention and respect for the seat s/he is in, they should get our respect only for the work they deliver, the integrity with which they make decisions, and the intent for progressive outcome.
We have always been led to imagine the leader as a solitary figure standing at the helm controlling circumstances but this image is far from the truth, effective leadership is not a solo endeavour but a collective journey in which each person has an obligation and a part to play.
