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by Ravi Perera

"We have met the enemy... it is we" If you were to listen to some of the participants in late evening talk shows on our TV it would appear that we have two distinct groups of people in Sri Lanka.

One, we have a group who are said to be evil, incompetent, unpatriotic, dishonest and foolish. Those in this group generally hold positions of power, are socially active and are open to public scrutiny. The other group is apparently constituted of good, competent, patriotic, honest and intelligent persons.

They generally do not hold office (although they obviously would like to), are active in small organizations, not subject to much public scrutiny and love to express their opinion on every conceivable subject.

Recently, at my bank I observed a neighbour who is a self-proclaimed member of the latter group. She who is now probably in the wrong side of her fifties is a tireless advocate of good governance with an incurable nostalgia for the 'good old days'. We were both standing in the queue, which was about ten strong.

Using her somewhat overbearing personality to the maximum I observed her working herself to the top of the line with the excuse that her business "would take only a minute". She certainly took over a minute with the teller but none of those abiding the queue protested. It was obviously a small matter for them.

But what would have happened if our avowedly public spirited heroine observed a politician or policeman doing what she did? This incident would have given enough grist for her critical mill for a fortnight.

On the bigger stage, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) is a trenchant critic of all that is mainstream. According to them everybody else is unpatriotic, undemocratic and violent. But recently, in Mahiyangana there was an incident where a provincial bigwig of this party was so enraged by the reluctance of a public servant to obey his orders that he reportedly became violent.

Now, I am not an admirer of our public service. But we cannot remedy a perceived lapse on the part of the public service by resorting to violence. There are channels to follow if one has a complaint. The JVP, which is extremely critical of undemocratic actions of other political parties, does not appear to have much time for those who do not agree with them!

The other day I was listening to a veteran advocate of good governance on TV.

According to him he had been many times a victim of bad governance. This person who is an inveterate seeker of office one time was involved in a sporting body. It was a most controversial and unhappy period for this sport.

We saw an incredible number of players / clubs removed, terminated or otherwise "disciplined" during this time. Good governance was not in vogue at the time but there were many who would not agree with his interpretation of sportsmanship and good form. Many times since he has unsuccessfully attempted to capture power in this sporting body again. The good men of this sport will not forget his misdeeds. But today he speaks with a nauseating stridency about the failings of everyone else. Bad governance according to this man is only what others do.

This theme repeats itself over and over in our society. The People's Alliance (PA) had a bitter taste of State sponsored election malpractices during the pre Wijetunga UNP era. During the 1982 Presidential elections in a cynical affront to fundamental democratic principles even the votes of leading opposition members were cast by impersonators. But what did the PA after capturing power do about it? In 1999 it staged the most ridiculous election our country has experienced at the Wayamba Provincial Council elections when even the pretence of asking for a mandate from the public was abandoned!

Is good governance something that only others ought to do? Is the other person always the sinner?

Intellectual integrity and taking the blame for one's actions are important ingredients of a superior civilization as much as good governance and public probity. If a majority of a nation are quick to denounce the wrongs of others but are consciously unjust themselves it is a hypocritical nation. On the other hand if they are not conscious of their double standards or do not care about it they are an unintelligent people. Whatever it maybe, it is not a happy state for a nation to be in.

The otherwise public spirited woman who does not mind jumping a queue is as much a problem as the politician who passes down government contracts to his family. To stand in line is an affirmation of one's civility and self respect. How can a person who thinks nothing of jumping a simple queue insist that a politician stand in line to be served?

The terrible problems that we observe in our society may perhaps have more to do with us than the transgressors we so readily blame. Our general lack of civic sense, the inclination to compromise on standards for petty benefits and the partisan nature of our thinking probably makes the current situation in the country inevitable.

A diplomat once observed that a large number of visa applications his consular office in Colombo received had personal information, which were palpably false. According to him many of the applicants for tourist visas to his country had lied about the purpose of travel and in fact had no intention of returning .

I can quite sympathize with these visa seekers who want to escape the terrible conditions of their country. For them, to lie has become a necessity .

If the end result could be achieved the path taken is of little importance to these people. Sadly this attitude has permeated our entire society now. The same thing happens in our courts. Today, testimonials of witnesses depend very much on who has paid them or on their various personal allegiances.

The concept that a witness under oath should speak the truth apparently has few adherents in our country. The legal system operates on evidence. If most of the witnesses are persons with an ambiguous attitude towards the truth the courts will find it very hard to operate. Infact very often now criminal cases end with the accused person walking away free while courts are left trying witnesses for perjury!

Some time back a foreign ruggerite was shot to death in front of a big crowd at a Colombo casino. Apparently, there was no one willing to testify because a powerful person was implicated in the incident. This episode is something that should shame the entire law enforcement establishment. That otherwise decent persons who witnessed this horrific killing of a young man and the generally duty conscious police officers and prosecutors were cowed into inaction by the influence of a suspect surely diminishes our society.

This was a situation where if we had men of high moral calibre in the law enforcement machinery a stand would have been made. But it is obvious that they preferred to take the path of least resistance, blame some one else and carry on with their careers.

So, where lies the problem?

It is obvious that the blame for the various problems facing our nation cannot be entirely placed on the top rulers. They only represent the various tendencies, interests and standards that are our society. They cannot rise much above the intelligence and the culture of the nation they represent. The housewife who jumps queues, the official of a sports club who does not understand the spirit of such institutions, policemen who ignore the traffic lights themselves in their own way undermine the system.

We observe every day our Mr. Average Citizen's lack of civic sense and contempt for social rules. For instance, in every possible situation he will use a contact to get an advantage over those who are in a queue.

He will not think twice about throwing his rubbish around. He will drive in a most selfish manner. And when he is working, the services he offers and the quality of his out put will be pretty average. It maybe that our anguished search for answers for the plight the nation is in should begin much closer to home.

The enemy might be uncomfortably near.

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