We, Sri Lankans, are keen in making changes at err.. highest level possible. For example if a certain medication doesn’t cure a runny nose in two days, we change the doctor! That’s basically our approach in just about anything. If we don’t like something, and we expect it to be different, we want things to change at a very fundamental level.
We hardly stop to think or question if the medication takes time to cure, or whether the current doctor would change the medication after observation.
Worse, we don’t care even if a new doctor gives us steroids to cure a simple runny nose, which would create complications later on. Nor do we care if the change of medication would worsen the illness… We just want to keep changing the doctor.
May be that’s vengeance, for the doctor failed to satisfy you the way we want, just because we can.
We want our government to change, because the cost of living is high, because the level of corruption is high, because the number of ministers in the cabinet is high, because we don’t have proper infrastructure in the country, because the IDPs are still in camps, because SF is in custody, because we are yet to get benefits from not being at war…
I’d say we should wait… let things work out, let the smoke of war clear out, let the corrupt system build the infrastructure first and let the flow of investments come in… Let the people who work do their work...
This is a very valid thinking. In fact, I cannot agree with you more regarding the lack of ‘patience’ that we observe in our society. The runny nose medication example is a good one both literally and figuratively. Not sure if there is anything “Sri Lankan” about it; most cultures I have seen have this ‘impatience’. And I have not seen many cultures… so, I am not sure.
ReplyDeleteChanging the “system” is something that takes painfully long time, especially in a democratic setup. One needs to get the “buy in” from the masses or “cheat” them in order to do “unbelievable changes”. Getting the buy-in from masses to do changes is not easy. Although we are ‘impatient’ we are not ready to change either. We may do doctor-hopping impatiently, we may want to try out different medications, but are not ready to change our lifestyles; east more vegetables, get more exercise, so that we do not have to visit doctors too often. The great dilemma of change comes in to play here. We want things to improve, but we also don’t want to them to change.
Politicians hold the reigns in every aspect of Sri Lankan lives. Politicians have made sure that nothing is outside their control. Well, in fact; it almost seems that Sri Lanka exists for the purpose of politicians to do their politics and everything else is secondary. Within such a system, whether we like it or not, the biggest impact towards positive changes can be done within political system itself. So we are at the mercy of the good politicians who actually want to do some positive changes.
Anything outside of partly politics cannot yield quick results. It needs a lot of patience; exact thing that you have complained that we are lacking. Iron grip the politicians are having on every aspect of the society need to be taken off, one finger at a time. Most of all, more and more people should start to think on their own, and free their minds this iron grip.
Doctors may tell us to eat vegetables and have more exercise. However, they also know that healthy lives will reduce their business, the commission from pharmaceutical companies, foreign tours, the lucrative private practice. (Apologies for all those doctors out there who genuinely care for a healthy nation. I am just using this as an easy example), Until the system changes in such a way when doctors will be getting paid for keeping the nation healthy, as opposed to treating them when they are sick, we cannot expect doctors to be genuine with their words. There can be a lot of good doctors out there who likes to change the system. No matter romantic and far-fetched it sounds, we also can change the lifestyles of people outside of the system that involves doctors; only if we accept the fact that it is a slow process that requires a lot of patience.
Hi Mahasen, when it comes to anyone else, we are too fast to criticize but never stops to check ourselves or the situation. I am surprised at how all these people forgot about the 30 year war and the enormous political will needed to do that. Even to the end, people like Miliband, UNHR, Norwegians and a quite a good measure from this country itself wanted to save the terrorists. As a leader, it took a lot of courage to stand against basically what amounted to the entire western world to end the 30 year terrorist menace. I guess many people fail to see these facts.
ReplyDeleteNot only we want to change the doctors, we never really listen to what doctors say either. We want, as if through magic, doctor to cure all ailments immediately, with a wave of their hand.
My only hope and wish is, Sri Lanka to prosper. After 30 years of stagnation, it will be a very difficult task but I am certain, we will. We all will have to take the bitter medicine.