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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” - Edmund BurkeI am reprising this article, which was earlier published just this summer during the heat of the DNC primary election. So many things have happened since then that has changed the dynamics of this exceptionally contentious election year. We’ve spent far more time and spent more energy on this election amid the worst financial crisis since the depression years. Thankfully, all these will come to a screeching halt in less than a month. But then of course beyond that, the real work begins as this current lame duck presidency wanes and another one waxes.
For those of us in this small yet rising immigrant community, who can choose the leaders who will govern us, we are not only privileged to wield the power of the vote but also, because of the vicissitudes of these dark political times, called upon, as our right and duty, to protect the sanctity of the vote and defend that bedrock principle of democracy that states that “every vote must count”, in the face of the looming threat of massive fraudulent voter registration that can steal this election. Be on guard. As Edmund Burke, the British statesman who supported the American colonies in its dispute with King George III, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
As observers cum participants in this political process, we ought to keep our eyes and ears peeled and our noggins engaged in the discourse that is going on. These are troubled times when many have lost their homes, their jobs, their 401Ks, their faith and trust in themselves and the ability of government to help them live decent, productive lives. And since this is a global economy, the repercussions of the horror we have seen on Wall Street and Main Street are now being felt on a massive scale.
The country is vulnerable and when people are weak, people do have a tendency to make more errors in decision-making. If you are not a political junkie because you feel you have better things to do than waste your time following the goings-on in the political arena and cannot make heads or tails of the issues being discussed by both parties, there is a way of deciding intuitively, practically error-free.
Go with character because in any human endeavor, CHARACTER COUNTS. If you are a woman being courted by 2 suitors and you have to decide between the two, go beyond the words and look beyond the promises. “The past”, as Shakespeare once said, “ is prologue.” Past individual performance over a period of time beats promises anytime. A solid record trounces empty rhetoric. Better yet, check their record of giving to charity, through their personal income taxes. Who gives more? No indication of character can be clearer. No spin-doctor can lie his way out of an indication of who gives more of themselves. Who walks the talk?
If you are taking a perilous flight, you want the pilot with the most flying hours, not the rookie who will still be fumbling to learn the controls in the cockpit. If you will sail a stormy sea, which very well describes what is before us within this coming decade, you will want to choose the captain who has the heart, the courage and the character to safely bring the ship home to port, not one who will still have to study the wind, the tide and the seascape or monitor the situation by Blackberry, while the iceberg looms menacingly ahead.
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