Politicians the problem, but electors not innocent

Commentary
The Standard
By John Mwazemba

James Ostrowski, a lawyer at Buffalo, New York, made a frightful, but accurate statement, identifying the main problem that haunts voters. He wrote caustically: "If you gave a politician truth serum (to flow like blood in his veins) and asked him what he did for a living, he would quote Tolstoy: ‘I sit on a man’s back, choking him and making him carry me and assure myself and others that I am sorry for him and wish to lighten his load by all possible means — except by getting off his back.’

"If you gave truth serum to those who vote for the liars and asked them why they do, they would quote Frederic Bastiat who described government as ‘that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else’. "

Columnists have constantly bashed politicians for lying to voters. We expect them to lie, especially when campaigning for office. And they have not disappointed us. They faithfully lie as if they just graduated from "Lie School" where they took an oath to uphold half-truths and, of course, whole untruths.

Ostrowski further says: "Politics is the art of determining how organised force is to be used in society. Force is essentially a negative thing. It destroys things and prevents things from happening."

What about voters? In every democracy, the people elect politicians. And that is the scary part.
Why do we cry and curse, but still vote for the same politicians back to power? Politicians use lies as a tool — sometimes the only tool they have. And as Abraham Maslow said: "When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail." Someone else further said: "When all you can see are nails, every tool becomes a hammer."

Though politicians are constantly lie, voters are also to blame for electing them. At my rural home, election campaigns are ridiculously hilarious. The MP and his opponents sound like people who have a few wires disconnected in their heads or loose screws. They go to great length to avoid answering questions or addressing the people’s concerns.

Voters must examine themselves. Could they be the problem? Yes we are, though not the only problem. Though I have never been one, being a politician is not easy. I have listened to Cuban President Fidel Castro make non-stop radio speeches and cling to power. When he stumbled from a dais at a graduation ceremony and broke his leg, a US official broke his ribs with laughter saying: "We’ve been looking forward to Castro’s fall for years, but this isn’t what we had in mind."

That is politics — people laugh at you when you break a leg. It is hard to be a politician whether in the developed or developing world. American politics is not easier, better or different. President George Bush is facing the greatest threat of his legacy — public opinion.

In an article in the Washington Post, Op-ed columnist Robert Samuelson makes astounding observations: "Towering over Presidents, public opinion stands out, in the US, as the great source of power, the master of servants who tremble before it."

He goes on: "We could blame the prospect of a divided government or bipartisan leadership vacuum; both might promote paralysis. But the deeper cause is public opinion. Our politicians are slaves to public opinion. Superficially, this should be reassuring. Democracy is working because public attitudes remain the dominant influence — not big money or special interests as many believe.

"But it is not reassuring. The trouble is that public opinion is often ignorant, confused and contradictory; the policies it produces are often ignorant, confused and contradictory — which means they are ineffective."

Samuelton gives facts. The Pew Research Centre says: "In 2003, 67 per cent of Americans thought that Bush’s invasion of Iraq was the right decision. Only 26 per cent thought it wrong. Now views are split — 43 per cent ‘right’ and 47 per cent ‘wrong.’ Samuelton’s message is that voters are sometimes to blame for vacillation and contradiction. Sometimes we don’t even know what we want or what kind of leaders we are looking for.

In Kenya, we have had politicians subjected to corruption investigation. Instead of letting the law take its course, voters have cried foul that their leaders are targeted because they come from this or that community. And many have taken such public opinion and ethnic walls as "shields" whenever asked to be accountable.

When they say: "I’m being persecuted because I come from this and that community", we go to their defence — marching in the streets holding banners and cursing. Then to prove those who were "witch-hunting" wrong, and to show our solidarity, we vote corrupt leaders back to power.

There are leaders we considered corrupt a few years ago, but now they are the angels we look up to for redemption. Most politicians in power are generally the ones who have been in power or sons and daughters of those who were in power in the past. The political elite has familiar faces. It is no wonder familiar problems have persisted for years. Things also remain the same, election after election. In a surprising way, with a few exceptions, we elect the same people.

We seem to have resigned to fate and take everything lying down, including politicians’ lies. We know better, but we don’t want to change things. We actually conspire with people to lie to us and then elect them to represent us. We expect the Government to sort out the mess and help us, but have we not played a part in creating it?

We believe that all problems can be solved and blame Government for not accomplishing the impossible. We won’t acknowledge choices, contradictions and unpalatable truths. Throwing the bums out is a venerable tradition, but what if we are the ultimate bums?"