An election is just around the corner and various misleading videos have started to circulate over social media trying to manipulate the voters. The main objective of today's topic is educating the people on the bitter truth. Then at least the English medium readers will understand the reality which does not come out through the mouths of politicians or over social media platforms.
It was during the so-called ‘Aragalaya’ that we started to hear certain things such as ‘We don't want the 225’, how the country became bankrupt when we were paying for everything including fuel, light bills, transport cost etc. on time. The very same voices are now demanding elections to elect over 8,000 more new politicians and to feed them and their staff by spending billions of rupees. Still no one knows whether the voters are intelligent enough to understand the two contradictory statements of this segment of society, rejecting the 225 and electing 8,000.
Fortunately, the Government was able to get the Election Expenditure Bill passed in Parliament last week and now the crooks who rally round politicians prior to every single election cannot ‘buy’ them. It is hilarious and very funny to see how some political parties and politicians are worried and crying now without being able to spend millions of rupees to win the upcoming Local Government elections just as they did in the past. There are certain people who like them, approve of them and vote for them no matter how much money they spend on election propaganda. No need to cry and lie.
We are talking about certain things presently circulating on social media which go to mislead the voters. In those videos the members who were in the so-called Aragalaya ask how the country became bankrupt when they were paying for everything in the past. They say they pay for electricity, fuel, bus fare etc. from the beginning and now the country has become bankrupt. It seems they had paid more than enough!
Those misleading video makers are acting like babies and misleading the ignorant and stupid individuals who argue with themselves asking the same questions, why the country is bankrupt after we paid for everything. Some people do not know that they still receive a free health service and free education. They have forgotten the fact that they have enjoyed these benefits since Independence. Some of them think that it is their right and the Governments should offer these benefits to them free of charge. They do not know that other countries charge huge amounts of money from the people to offer these services.
The most pathetic part is some ignorant and uneducated people think that they pay the actual prices for fuel, electricity etc. and it is the real market price in the world. They have no idea whatsoever as to how all the past Governments provided them fuel etc. for a few rupees while paying double or more to buy them from foreign countries. Maybe they are thinking that the Government received money from heaven or some other planet to run the free health and free education services!
Unfortunately no politician talks about the local prices and International market prices of commodities and no media or social media outlets talk about them. The people need to be educated by politicians about the gap between those prices and that they have been fed free of charge while paying huge prices for all previous and the current Government. The Government and politicians should educate the people that the small amount of tax money received by the Government is not adequate to provide a free health service and free education service.
Otherwise, the vast majority of ignorant voters will not understand this bitter truth.
Villagers think that the drugs and various types of medical treatment they receive from State hospitals come from foreign countries free of charge! This is the reality. Politicians and all should act wisely, quickly and in a different manner when they deal with voters who are ignorant of these realities because although the country's literacy rate is very high, the majority of voters are duped by the mudslinging, misleading and lying politicians.
The voters do not vote for those who speak the truth and do not have the above qualifications.
The most important factor is offering everything free. The most popular word here in Sri Lanka has been ‘free’ since Independence. The Sri Lankan people will obtain whatever is given free no matter whether it harms them or even kills them. They will do anything for anyone if that person or the party gives them something free. This is typical of the Sri Lankan attitude. People say Sri Lankan people are ready to receive even a ‘headache’ if given free of charge.
But unfortunately, Sri Lankan people have not understood that they are in this very pathetic position today due to their own fault and their greediness to receive everything free or for the lowest price.
Almost all Sri Lankan politicians during the past 74 years have thrived on this weakness with the sole intention of capturing and clinging on to power. Fortunately, today no politician can do it any longer. The Sri Lankan people have received a golden opportunity to understand the reality after 74 long years. Both the country and people have reached a crucial juncture when celebrating the 75th Independence Day.
The people should understand that it is not only the politicians who are responsible for the current predicament that the country has fallen into.
State officials and all the other officials appointed by the respective Governments are equally responsible for the current situation of the country. Since the people form a significant part of public servants and those officials’ appointed by Governments belonging to various political parties over the years, they purposely forgive and forget the actions of public servants and officials.
Two minor political parties used this situation to sling mud on politicians in order to capture power. Without telling the people that both politicians and public servants are equally responsible for the current situation of the country, the politicians of those two minor political parties are trying to mislead the people by stating that it was the politicians who robbed the country of all its assets.
They have very cleverly brainwashed the graduates who are now public servants themselves and support them by launching strikes and sabotaging the functions of the public service.
The people of this country should get rid of their very dangerous and negative nature of expecting everything free from the Government. All previous Governments and politicians used this ‘evil nature’ to capture power and remain in power. But at least now, Sri Lankans need to earn, live and pay the real market price for the goods and services they receive. With the new electricity tariff this can be achieved. The people think that it is only corruption and malpractices resulting in the increased electricity tariff, but they do not realize that they are going to pay for what they have been receiving for a very low price for the past 74 years. The only problem is this realization should have been done several decades ago but it is happening only now.
If politicians have an iota of intelligence, they should present the statistics to the people and explain to them in simple language that the local price of fuel etc. is much lower than the world market price and that all previous Governments and the current Government have had to find the money to buy fuel etc. because the money people pay for fuel etc. is not adequate to purchase fuel. Only then will the farmers etc. understand what it is. Otherwise, they will simply believe all the lies uttered to them by two minor political parties just as they did over the past several decades. All should understand how clever they are because if they can very easily brainwash the intelligent undergraduates, then brainwashing the uneducated people would be nothing for them.
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