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When light strikes an object the angle of the reflected ray formed at the intersection is the angle of incidence. The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. The basic angle of incidence between government and citizens in a democracy should one of equality.
Simple definition of citizen – a person, native or naturalized, of either sex, who owes allegiance to a government, and is entitled to reciprocal protection from it and to the exercise of civil rights.
Democracy. In Greek, “Demos” means “people” and “Kratos” means power. It was a word in ancient Greece used to designate a government where the people share in directing the activities of the state, as distinct from governments controlled by a single class, select group, or autocrat.
Government of the people, by the people, for the people. In a democracy supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
A democracy is a governing body (government) elected by the people. The government has the power to exercise political direction and administer public policy and make and enforce laws over the citizens of a country.
The problem with the Government is that it is formed by politicians that belong to a political party.
Political parties get their candidates elected to public office to attempt to secure their own party policies. Political party’s aim to influence or control the government rather than administer or direct public policy/governmental policy.
And a politician may or may not be elected, yet s/he could still hold a political office in a political party and influence public decision-making.
This straightforward and probably naive view of politics is fraught with danger because it assumes that the elected representatives will behave responsibly and in the best interests of the people they represent.
The definition of the word minister is the one which I take to mean, one who serves, or helps me. The origin of the word minister goes back via old French, ministre – to Latin, minister ‘servant, attendant’. Etymologically,
minister is the antonym of master. The verb minister means, ‘attend to the needs of’.
What we should expect from ministers is for them to serve us. And not rule us! It is very clear to me as a citizen, is that I vote for, and have elected to represent me, politicians who are meant to minister to my needs.
However, these representatives (politicians) in the government, once elected change overnight from servers to masters.And the politicians in government begin to believe that they are meant to rule citizens – not serve them.
Government becomes a separate entity from citizens and contrary to our expectations of the government of collectively ministering to our needs, ministers become monsters instead, and government takes on a personality of its own quite separate from its citizens.
The Games Government Plays. The government begins to lay down the law instead of following the law. The politicians in government feel that they are above the law, and break laws which they feel do not apply to them.
Instead of administering the rules and regulations of the country they invoke the rules and regulations towards their own convenience and bend these rules to their own ends. They create rules and regulations for the citizens – to suppress and regulate us (citizens).
The political party in power for the moment, whom we elect, and the opposition, whom we also elect, do not spend much time in governing, but in playing the game of politics and political one-one-upmanship and doing nothing for the citizens who have put them up to represent them.
Politicians represent their own needs and their own aspirations of greed and power over people, instead of representing the people and their needs, wants, comforts and desires.
Politicians mistake their own base cunning for intelligence and they become careless and arrogant. They become secretive and cagey; they become opaque and autocratic. They become rich at the expense of the people.
They become autocratic due to citizens quiescence, silence, apathy and apparent helplessness, because the people begin to believe that the government and these politicians are leaders who are above them.
Government becomes self-important, smug and insensitive to the people. They do not wish to be questioned. They forget the old saw: You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
They believe they are masters of the universe. They lose all sense of reality and think that they are too powerful and too cunning to be caught in their lies and deceptions.
But they get caught, and they often do get caught with their hand in the cookie jar; or on the wrong foot. Or, with their pants down – in flagrante delicto – they get caught by their own arrogant belief that they are above the law. Its only then that we realise that we didn’t use our power of discretion well when we elect them and we should be the ones who catch these craven, egregious, brazen, clearly bad, offensive people.
We citizens, the electorate, unfortunately, believe the hype that these elected politicians surround themselves with at our expense, and instead of thinking of them as our representatives who are meant to serve us, we begin to call them leaders.
We don’t do our homework. We don’t choose our servants/representatives with discretion. We create these ‘minister monsters’ and then lose control of these Frankenstein’s, these political parties and their politicians, working for their own hidden agendas and their own self-interest
Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason – Anonymous-
There’s a lot we can do. We should start with ourselves:
. We should do our homework, and know who we are voting for and electing.
. We should be clear in our minds that we are voting for people to serve us and not lead us, and honestly minister to our needs and not sit on our heads.
We should know that we are responsible for our own actions and circumstances. When we vote for a representative without knowing what we want, we are going to get what we deserve, and deserve what we get.
. We should overcome our indifference and our small-minded insularity and participate, think positively and do things that we can do within our own expertise or talent to improve. Enhance awareness and educate.
. Support Civil Society* movements after studying themand agreeing with their methods and objectives in whatever way we can.
. Support environmental groups that are fighting for a better present and future against venal politicians and their vested interests
. Support Social Equity – especially those marginalised by the very politicians who we elect to serve us and the corporate exploiters who pay-off politicians.
. Protest and demand information aboutso called public utility schemes floated by corrupt politicians without public discussion.
All around the world, government and politicians collude with large companies to strip the land of its mineral resources, and displace poor people of their livelihood and place to live for their own gain. Politicians ruin the world with their short-term outlook. It sad but true, and the sooner we catch them at their game, the better it is for all of us.
The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection – This fundamental concept of how light interacts with surfaces, serves as a cornerstone for understanding the relationship between Government and Citizens.
Government and citizens should reflect each other at an equal angle.
*Civil Society – The World Bank has adopted a definition of civil society developed for them by a number of leading research centres – “the term civil society to refer to the wide array of non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that have a presence in public life, expressing the interests and values of their members or others, based on ethical, cultural, political, scientific, religious or philanthropic considerations. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) therefore refer to a wide of array of organizations: community groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), labour unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, and foundations”.
This is my simple definition of civil society. “Voluntary actions and advocacy by a voluntary association of citizens who come together as a community to take up ‘deeply concerning’ causes to the government for the greater common good of the citizens of the country”.
Pratap Antony, Passive activist/Active pacifist writer on ecology and environment, compassion and humanity, dogs, social justice, music and dance.
