Chiluba's extravagance is terrifying
Chiluba's extravagance is terrifyingBy Editor
Thursday May 24, 2007 [04:00]
IT is very annoying that Frederick Chiluba doesn’t see anything wrong with him spending over a million dollars of taxpayers’ money on designer suits, shirts and shoes. Even if this were his personal money, as he wants to claim, this would still be wrong. As Dr Kenneth Kaunda has correctly observed, Chiluba’s extravagance is terrifying. Even Emelda Marcos didn’t accumulate so many shoes. And one can excuse Emelda because she was not president, she was not in charge of the government of the Philippines - it was her husband, Ferdinand, who was president. This is not to say Emelda’s extravagance is excusable and should be followed by first ladies.
Chiluba’s extravagance and abuse of public funds is a clear testimony that the man didn’t care much about this country and its people; he didn’t care about the plight of the poor. But as Dr Kaunda has said, a lesson should be learnt and never again should the people of this country put into power such an idiot, such a lunatic, such a senseless and insensitive person.
And anyone who doesn’t see anything wrong in what Chiluba did is not fit to be a politician in this country and should never be voted for.
The Zambian people should be ready to openly campaign against any politician who is prepared to defend Chiluba’s abuses, thefts and general banditry. Sometimes one would wish this foolish man were never born, or if born, not in this country. But since we don’t wish any humanity anywhere in the world to have such a reckless person for a leader, we would wish Chiluba were not born at all. And since he is already with us, and he has already done so much harm to our country, we can only wish and hope that never again should our country and our people be subjected to such mediocrity and senselessness.
What we need is a political leadership that cares all the time. We need a leadership that doesn’t think this is the soft sentiment, that doesn’t think it’s ‘wet’. We need a leadership that realises and accepts the fact that caring is the essence of strength. It is time our politicians started to realise that strength without care is savage and brutal and selfish. And because Chiluba did not see things this way, his whole reign was savage, brutal and selfish. Only a savage can do what Chiluba did; only a selfish person can abuse public funds in the manner Chiluba did.
There is need for our politicians and all other leaders to realise that strength with care is compassion - the practical action that is needed to help people lift themselves to their full stature. That’s real care - it is not soft or weak. It is tough and strong. But where do we get that strength to provide that care? Do we wait for some stroke of good fortune, some benign giant, some socially conscious Samson to come along and pick up the wretched of the earth? Of course we don’t.
What we need to do is cooperate with each other, to collect together, to coordinate our efforts so that everyone can contribute to the building of a more fair, just and humane Zambia under which everyone can benefit, everyone has responsibilities, everyone has rights. That way, we will be able to make the weak strong; that way, we will be able to lift the needy, make the sick whole, give talent the chance to flourish and end unemployment. We have to do it together. And when we do it together, it is called collective strength, collective care. And its whole purpose should be individual freedom and dignity.
We know it is hard for most Zambians to understand what Chiluba did, but sometimes painful things like this happen. But we have to bravely face them and take corrective action. The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.
What Chiluba did is totally unacceptable and no sensible or decent person can defend it. And no matter how entertaining, how fulfilling to short-term egos, can one play games with people’s lives? Our people will not, cannot, tolerate posturing. We all see the casualties, even the blind can see them. They are not to be found amongst the leaders of the Chiluba type; they are to be found amongst the people whose lives are crushed, whose living standards are pushed down to deeper depths of insecurity and misery.
There are some who will say that power and principle are somehow in conflict. Those people who think that power and principle are in conflict only demonstrate the superficiality, the shallowness of their political convictions.
And although it can correctly be said that no section of society has all the virtues, neither does any have all the vices, what Chiluba did will not be approved by any part of our society. This may explain why very very few people can today stand up to openly defend Chiluba’s abuses. We are quite sure that most of our people try to do their jobs as best as they can, even if the result is not always entirely successful. It is said that he who has never failed to reach perfection has a right to be the harshest critic. There can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for people and institutions that are part of public life.
No institution should be expected to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don’t. But we are all part of the same fabric of our national society and that scrutiny, by one party of another, can be just as effective if it is made with a touch of understanding and sincerity. This sort of questioning can also act, and it should do so, as an effective engine for change of behaviour or conduct. It is this approach that enabled us to bring Chiluba to account for his abuses of public resources and indeed power.
And this is not for the sake of humiliating anyone but it is for the purpose of redeeming society and enabling it to make the necessary changes. We cannot continue to have the leaders of the Chiluba type in our country and hope to prosper.
Everything possible must be done to ensure that never again should this country be governed by such a shameless thief and petty-minded person who can empty a huge portion of the nation’s treasury into a boutique and come out with tonnes of suits, shirts and shoes - not to distribute to the nation’s naked - but for his own personal use. When one looks at things this way, it becomes easy to understand why many of our people find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to tolerate Chiluba’s thefts and abuses. This is not hatred for Chiluba as a human being, but for his stupidity, idiocy and shameful conduct. Truly, Chiluba’s extravagance is terrifying.
posted by MrK @ 12:09 PM
1 Comments:
Here is an article on 'Acquired Situational Narcissism', the trap of all individuals who hold public office. And why every country needs elections that with great frequency change who is in power.
http://samvak.tripod.com/journal73.html
Reactive or transient narcissism may also be triggered by medical or organic conditions. Brain injuries, for instance, have been known to induce narcissistic and antisocial traits and behaviors.
But can narcissism be acquired or learned? Can it be provoked by certain, well-defined, situations?
Robert B. Millman, professor of psychiatry at New York Hospital - Cornell Medical School thinks it can. He proposes to reverse the accepted chronology. According to him, pathological narcissism can be induced in adulthood by celebrity, wealth, and fame.
The "victims" - billionaire tycoons, movie stars, renowned authors, politicians, and other authority figures - develop grandiose fantasies, lose their erstwhile ability to empathize, react with rage to slights, both real and imagined and, in general, act like textbook narcissists.
Read on...
http://samvak.tripod.com/journal73.html
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