Tolerance in opposite order
By Dr.Tilak S. Fernando
Dilshani
Palugaswewa highlighted in the Ceylon Today (Sunday Edition), the
discourse made by Ajitha Wickremesinghe, the Financial Legal Equality Advisor
and Director of iProbono, and the Founding Trustee of Think Equal, at a
function held at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, on 21
November, to mark The International Day for Tolerance
.
Ajitha
Wickremesinghe’s speech at the forum was significantly thought provoking. He has
opened his discourse by asking whether ‘any one wishes to be just
tolerated,’ which is very much on a par with the present situation in Sri
Lanka, especially in political circles.
Behavioural
patterns of people certainly have an overall impact on any society. Everyone
agrees with Aritha Wickremasinghe’s viewpoint that ‘tolerance is much desirous
than discriminating, as no one wants to be treated negatively’. He
has concentrated, in his sermon, mainly on the traffic situation in Sri Lanka,
as well as on a wide-range of topics, from racial discrimination to associated
violence (evidently displayed recently in Gintota), and on gender based
discrimination in job opportunities, particularly on women, the disabled and,
those confined to wheel chairs, and the transgender.
Tolerance
in opposite order.
The
tolerance can easily work in the opposite order as well! Sri Lankans, on this
issue, expose their gullibility due to a long-term brainwashing done by
politicians, which has managed to breed a ‘social smog’ tolerance.
It would be more prudent to refer to the inaugural speech made by
President Maithripala Sirisena, when he addressed the newly elected Members of
Parliament, after winning the Presidential election on 8 January 2015, by
calling them as, “ Garu or Honourable Members of Parliament”. From
there onwards, he went on to congratulate the people of Sri Lanka, who voted
for him, as well those who did not, et al.
The
President, as a Parliamentarian with 26 years of experience, at the time, and
as a Minister who had held a variety of portfolios in the government, appeared
to have been caught unawares, to use the term ‘tolerance’ in the opposite
order’ by addressing all as, ‘Honourable or Garu”
members.
Could this
be due to people in this Country being reduced for decades to a
nationwide `smog tolerance,` either by being naïve or purposely? It
is mind-blowing to note how every one in this country is addressing
parliamentarians as ‘Garu or honourable, as a spreading
contagious disease. The Cabinet Ministers on the other hand, seem to
believe that they have descended from heaven and dwell in cloud nine! It is
such a travesty that they seem to forget their obligations as to why people in
this country have elected them to such glorious positions. In the bygone years,
even the cream of the civil servants displayed humility by signing official
letters as `Your obedient servant’! Parliamentarians are not a
special breed, but ordinary people elected by the citizenry, and get paid
handsomely out of taxpayers’ hard earned money for which, they need to be duty
bound officially as well as morally.
Honourary
Titles
Honourary
titles exist academically in Universities and Colleges, as an accolade in
recognition of students’ merits. In certain contexts, a title is added to
someone's name to signify veneration, or a professional or academic
qualification. In a more general concept, the title of ‘ Doctor’ is used on
non-medicos, who hold a philosophic degree. Senior Surgeons in Britain are
addressed as ‘Mr ’ as an honour, instead of simply calling them ‘Dr. ’
Titles such as ‘ Sir ‘and ‘Dame,’ in the UK, are bestowed upon a special
category of men and women, with the rank of Knight Commander, or holder of the
Grand Cross in the Order of Chivalry. Therefore, to address someone as
‘honourary,’ the person needs to be engaged in voluntary work, without seeking
any payment or remuneration for his services.
In such a
backdrop, when the general public and politicians are addressing each other,
among themselves, as ‘garu’ or honourary Member of
Parliament, Prime Minister or President, the tolerance begins to work in
opposite order, as the entire lot is not engaged in honourary work but earn fat
salaries, allowances of many a kind, including millions worth of duty free
luxury car permits and, the worse being becoming self centered, and clutch
themselves to their parliamentary privileges, for five years, and qualify for a
life time pension. It’s high time that the citizenry begin to cast-off such
balderdash, and treat politicians for what they are, as none of them appears to
be doing a voluntary service.
Young
Aritha Wickremasinghe’s strategies ‘to push forward a new generation of
identical thinkers and well mannered citizens’ in a steering programme,
aimed at children of three years old, in a number of selected schools, need to
be recognised and upheld.
Lankaweb – December 2017