October 29, 2022: Polarization, leading to hatred, must be avoided
Democratic Leaders must learn to respect each other: On 28th October David DePape, 42, entered the house of the Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco with the intention of causing a physical harm to her. Pape visualized himself as similar to the founding fathers of United States of America, who battled the British and succeeded in setting up the first democratic republic of the modern world, 246 years back.
The founding fathers were people, who were passionate about freedom. But it was only because of their love for fellow citizens that they could think of a democratic set up. We believe that persons, with the kind of hatred which David DePape had in his mind, while intruding into Pelosi’s home, would not have been able to visualize the US constitution, which implements the ideas of Equality and Fraternity. We call upon DePape and all other citizens to shed hatred from their heart and mind.
To cite a few examples of democrats, Narendrabhai Modi, the Prime Minister of India, on 23rd March 2020, in the Upper House (called Rajya Sabha) said about the members of opposition: ‘They have enriched and enlivened the debates of the house by their significant contribution, initiative and expertise.’ Similarly, Pandit Nehru said about a young member of the opposition (Atal Behari Vajpayee) that he may one day become the Prime Minister of India. I am sure, the readers will be able to cite many examples, from different democracies, of mutual high appreciation by law-makers on the two sides of the divide between the ruling and the opposition parties.
Mutual courtesy, regard and care are important for proper functioning of a democracy. For a ruling party member, a member in the opposition is not an enemy but a fellow citizen, who happens to hold different views. While one may not agree with the views of the other person, one has to respect the right of the other to hold differing views.
A democracy is a human endeavor and its citizens have to continuously nurture it so that it is able to face every new challenge, faced by their nation and the world. The governance systems must not be permitted to become loose and the governments should never be permitted to take their citizens for granted. But efficient and effective governance systems must be accompanied by citizens, who perform their duties every day and every time.
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