This year I came to the US in the middle of October to be with my sons and siblings and also celebrate the festival season. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New-Year are the important festivals which are celebrated with great fanfare and enthusiasm here in this country. Back home the elections to the state assemblies in Gujarat and my home state Himachal Pradesh were approaching. Though the Election Commission had not yet issued the official notification to this effect, yet the election fever was catching on. There was more interest in the Gujarat election as it would be a make or break situation for both the opposition and the ruling dispensation. I didn't mind missing the show. Thankfully it is over now. Recently at a small gathering of friends here in the US somebody commented on the tenor of various utterances by political figures during the course of campaigning in these elections. A very valid observation no doubt. And I quite agree. Come to think about it, in the last few elections the standard of political discourse has seen a steady decline. The pertinent issues are given a go by, the focus is on denigrating the opponents. Those in power and those out of it unabashedly indulge in this behavior. The guiding 'Mantra' is stoop-to-conquer, stoop as low as you can ! But why blame those who aspire to rule us. They are only speaking in the language that electorate likes to hear ! Why grumble if the politicians pander to our desire to hear such sleazy and partisan rhetoric ? The masses seem to enjoy such drivel. We have become so parochial in our vision that we are swayed by caste, creed and regional considerations. We are woefully lacking in distinguishing between right and wrong. Do we care for what is good for us as a nation or our greed has taken the better of our reasoning ? Every community wants some kind of reservation for them and the unscrupulous politicians are ever ready to promise the moon in there quest for power. Whatever happened to that adage 'First deserve then desire' ? So my countrymen do not cry for we get the Caesar that we deserve ! Or we get to hear what we want to believe !!
