I Despair

I have been attending political rallies for the past 8 to 10 days. This Election has been described as the 'watershed elections' by the media and while I cannot agree or disagree with that right now, I think regardless of the label, it has certainly been the most exciting event in this insipid island in a long while.

With 82 out of 87 seats in Parliament up for grabs, it is certainly a very contested elections. As expected, we have the usual gerrymandering, name-calling and mud-slinging from the regime. But this time, things are different. Most of the Opposition are well-prepared. They have credible candidates who are highly educated and have good credentials. Their speeches are fiery and stir the emotions of the oppressed masses. They give the audience what they want: bread-and-butter issues that have been ignored too long by the overpaid and bloated regime. And the people have dared to express themselves a little more.; there is strength in numbers, and courage and fortitude in shared misery. The state-controlled media, even with their gutter journalism, no longer dominates the airwaves like they used to. Facebook, Twitter, blogs and other social media are now the people's media, and one whose potency the regime, just like their counterparts in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, have been slow to recognize.

The regime loves to criticize the Opposition by saying they have no proven track record and experience of running a country. Their sole and limited idea of improving the people's lives is to dangle a carrot (which has being bought using the people's money) and going on ad nauseam about upgrading. Thinly veiled threats about what would happen if the regime lose seats only serve to inflame the population and spur the Opposition and their supporters to greater vehemence.

Caught off guard by this development, the regime decided that an apology is necessary to stem the tide. Four days before polling day, the leader of the regime issued a half-baked apology for the inadequacies in his administration. One minister dropped a few tears and another mumbled something approximating an apology. The contrition shown by a few of the regime high-ups for their incompetence are as false as they are forced. If the huge turnout for the Opposition rallies hasn't worried them and shocked them out of their smug complacency, would they have admitted to their shortcomings and the cock-ups for the past five years of their rule? According to the mainstream media, some voters may decide to 'forgive' them for their mistakes and vote for them.

Sinkies are a strange people. We live in an unforgiving culture in which people are marked as failures when they make 'unpardonable' mistakes like being sent to prison or failing an important examination. The stigma of failure is stronger than a lack of morals. While we do not forgive one another for our shortcomings and mistakes, it is a given that we forgive authority for even the most heinous offences. Lifetimes of indoctrination, of existing in a culture of blind obedience to authority, and in one that authoritarian figures in white are deified and an old man has his own personality cult has destroyed much of our innate sense of liberty. We pride ourselves on being mindless drones; step out of line and prepare to be marked for termination, regardless of intentions. Under such stifling conditions, is it any wonder that Sinkies are little more than educated dogs?

I have no high hopes for the Opposition, and by extension, for democracy and making the regime accountable to people this Election. Five years ago, we witnessed spectacular turnouts for the Opposition, only to see the regime secure the 'mandate of the people' with a 66.6% vote. Although the regime has screwed up considerably subsequent to their victory - and these cock-ups have been discussed, debated, and argued to death - I suspect that fear, inertia, and simple antipathy may combine to kick ourselves in our faces, making the next five years more Hellish than the previous five.

My mates are going to have a bachelor's night tomorrow. One says he wants to spoil his vote, another supports the regime because of perceived business interest, and as for the other fews, I don't think they will know what the Hell is going on. It has been claimed by many that the young are independently-minded and not afraid to vote for change, but I suspect that for these people, they are living on faith and faith is a belief, a hope, which is not substantiated by evidence.

I will not be joining them in their bachelor night bullshit. They can go to the Hells with our regime for all I care and I bid god-speed to them!When the dust has settled and the Opposition has found themselves betrayed by the people whom they martyr themselves for, I may choose to end it. And whenI do, I prefer to be alone. I deserve a little dignity.