Underhand operations

Underhand agents are at it again. The UNP and its proxy candidate at the Presidential poll have begun their dirty tricks. Here we refer to only one of them - the campaign of vilification against President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family members.

A discarded politico is at the head of the proxy candidate's electoral campaign propaganda. He is better known as the leader of the minuscule dissenting group that is known in Sinhala by the name of a venomous serpent. He is manufacturing lies, damn lies and damn damn lies at a rate that would put Goebbels to shame. Goebbels, as you know, was the propaganda chief of Generalissimo Hitler, the Fuhrer, the megalomaniac who sent thousands of innocent men, women and children to death through gas chambers, firing squads and concentration camps. The principle of Gobbelian propaganda was to continue repeating the same story, however untrue it was. He was confident that it would stick in the people's minds despite its falseness.

The strategy of this local Goebbels is the spreading of rumours at social gatherings and through telephone campaigns, off the record comments by politicians and through the Internet - the least credible medium of mass communication.

Though there may be gullible persons who would fall for their tricks the intelligent public would not do so. The rumours circulated refer to alleged transfers of landed property and acquisition of commercial establishments including private hospitals and holiday resorts. Sri Lanka is a small country where such things cannot be hidden and are easily verifiable. Transfer of property has to be registered at the land registry. Title deeds are public documents accessible to any one interested.

If these rumour mongers want to substantiate their claims they should produce proof - title deeds etc. If not they are unsubstantiated malicious allegations spread for the sake of gaining political mileage for their proxy candidate by unfair means. Such conduct is most deplorable. It deserves rejection with the contempt it deserves.

Why have they failed to provide proof of their allegations? The answer is simple. It is because they have no proof.

We highlight this issue not to hold a brief to the President or his extended family. It is a question of ethics irrespective of the personnel involved. Those who seek the highest office in the land should not resort to unethical practices and defame individuals. Nobody should be allowed to get away with such conduct.

It should also be noted that those who are using such unethical conduct are also chanting mantrams on good governance and clean politics. The devil may quote scriptures to his purpose.

In conclusion, it would be best to remind them of an adage that those who are in glass houses should not undress.

When reason is lost

Man is a rational animal. He alone possesses the faculty of logical thinking. He is capable of reasoning and adjusting his life.

But do all men (and women) act reasonably? There seems to be moments when reason has left them. For example how many people rush at a bus stand when a long distance bus comes along. Forgetting that there is only a narrow entrance to the bus too many want to get in at the same time. The ultimate result is that more time is taken to load the bus than if they had tried to enter one after the other in a line.

The same lack of reason is seen among those habitual gamblers and boozers who sink in the depths of misery for being unable to make ends meet even with comfortable incomes.

There are many local and foreign sayings that depict this loss of reason which enlightens the mind - Carrying coal to Newcastle, putting all eggs in one basket, applying medicament to the shoulder for the swelling in the leg and fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Perhaps one could find many instances where man has lost the faculty of reasoning.

The trouble is that man is not only endowed with the faculty of reasoning. Sometimes he is guided not by reason but by lust, anger or any other affliction of the heart. When heart decides the intellect (reason) retreats. This is true for any sphere of human activity, be it love, labour, politics, war or anything else.