Talk-show culture
I noted a complaint in the press about the new culture of TV talk-shows [after the suffocation of the muzzled freedom of the press by the dictated political regimes, now drowning and seeking floating straws for survival]. We Bengalese have got the natural gift of the gab -- it creates a lot of intellectual garbage!
We agree to differ, most of the time. We see it in our normal daily life interactions; in the shops, markets, with the hawkers and sellers. That is one of the basic reasons why the two charismatic political parties, AL and BNP, could never come to a consensus about any of the national goals and objectives, even after three decades since 1971. Diversity does not mean disunity. Our political leadership is not equal to the long-term tasks of the new nation. We asked for it!
Think more, talk less (a weakness for the microphone); and try to behave like citizens of the world in today's global village, and not as a citizen attached to a particular political party. This is a sign of inferiority complex. Why we seek so much security, and at the same time cry for all sorts of freedom? Freedom is not a licence. The right to differ should be respected, not muzzled.
Our hardworking chasi bhais and sisters and village folks are more practical, as they face the dark and foreboding realities of daily life in an LDC. Our intellectuals suffer from superiority complex (theory and practice)? Why and how this beating about the bush for long three decades? We do not seem to notice any light at the end of the tunnels (too many diverging channels of miscommunication).
Dhaka appears to have invented the concept of neutral, non-political caretaker governance during the period of pre-elections. Even this was suspected to be corrupt, as the previous one had to be replaced. For how many more years we would play this fruitless game of experimenting as rabble rousers?
Otherwise, our growth rate would have exceeded eight per cent (note the neighbour). One indirect indication of sagacity is the conservation of time and energy. Our systems losses in various public services are notoriously high, year after year, for decades; starting with corrupt practices, which have become a philosophy of life. The list of our national weaknesses is never-ending.
Let us pause and recapitulate and review how to run our country during the rest of this century.
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