Politics is in fray and people divided on the Prime Minister’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives.

Politics is in fray and people divided on the Prime Minister’s decision to dissolve the House of Representatives. But beyond this action and its implications, the question that arises upper most in my mind is about leadership. Are the people in government and in opposition not people’s representatives? Are they not the ones we chose to lead the nation on the path of our aspirations? And if so, is not what they are and do a reflection of our society and us as individuals? It has been seen time and again that political ideologies and policy differences can be compromised but political intensity is not compromised when the debate stands on our expression of identities. Unfortunately, almost every leader has chosen to base their battle cry on ‘divide and control’. Power has been repeatedly gained in the name of nationalism, identity and public sentiment where the masses are repeatedly sold dreams of a better life. On all formats of global rankings, we as a country are falling lower and lower on the scale for achievements and inclining on things like corruption, pollution, holding the weakest passport among others. Not much to be proud of and not much to give forward as a legacy to future generations. Political passivity is costing this nation more than it can afford. The youth of my generation are no longer youth and even this demographic has not come to the frontlines of active politics and change. Even when politics and leadership is clearly against our interest, the passivity of the citizen points to the fact that we stand increasingly anaesthetised to what is happening on the national level. I also look at global politics with the same scrutiny and it strikes me that perhaps the values and dynamics of leadership stand changed. The ascent to power by Xi, Erdogan, Putin, Trump and Oli are not mere coincidences. We chose them and that holds significant relevance on how we function as societies and nations. Today eight people hold the same wealth as 2.3 billion people – that was also by design. The pandemic has jolted me into thinking that perhaps we are entering a time period that we read about or watched as science fiction; a world where machines and bio technology are used to displace and control human life. We stand at a point of evolution, our choices will create the transformations we seek and want for ourselves and the future generations. We can either choose dystopia or freedom.