Another day, another blast,
many more lives lost, another day of constant bickering on TV, another
day for indignation and hopelessness. Where exactly are we going wrong
in our war against terror?
For starters, I'd like it if we didn't have to hear the platitudes that our politicos insist on mouthing ad nauseum,
thank you very much. Here's what we hear every time a bomb rips apart a
place, a family, a city - and here's what I'd like to hear instead.
What we hear #1: We strongly condemn the attacks.
Substitute with: We're tired of condemning attacks;
if we don't come back to you with the justice that you, as citizens of
this country, deserve after trusting us to protect you,
we'll add another amendment to our constitution that makes it legally
possible for you to remove the expensive security that we're granted
with your hard-earned money every time we use the word 'condemn' after
an attack.
What we hear #2: It is a cowardly act.
Substitute with: How do we know it's a cowardly attack? Because it takes one to know one.
What we hear #3: We will not succumb to terrorism.
Substitute with: We will make good on our promises
and strengthen preemptive measures that will allow us to stop terror in
its tracks and not subject you to the same old rinse-repeat routine
you've been hearing from us for we don't know how long.
What we hear #4: This was a planned attack.
Substitute with: Instead of exchanging flirtatious
couplets in a parliament session with opposition parties, we will
actually plan and debate on what steps we need to take to strengthen
security.
What we hear #5: We'd warned the (affected) state government of possible terror attacks.
Substitute with: We'll not try to wash our hands off
what is essentially our collective responsibility and add insult to
your injury. We'll consider such meaningless utterances a punishable
crime henceforth.
What we hear #6: The government pledges X lakhs of rupees for bereaved families.
Substitute with: We will stop this cowardly act of
putting a price on innocent lives lost for no fault of theirs. Instead,
we'll establish a welfare fund for families affected by terror attacks
that will be transparent and will support the families for as long as
they need.
What we hear #7: There are no leads yet.
Substitute with: You know someone will 'claim' responsibility, right? We'll tell you when they do.
What we hear #8: We can't fight terror alone.
Substitute with: We can't fight terror. Period. Let's make way for those who can.
(Addendum - Comment by Jayakrishna - thanks!)
What we hear # 9: The perpetrators will be brought to book.
Substitute with: The perpetrators will be caught and will be accorded
capital punishment. We will expedite capital punishment to convicted
terrorists as a deterrent and to demonstrate zero tolerance to threats
to National Security.
Any more you can think of?

Hi Manoj...
ReplyDeleteYou are doing really a great job here. Such post help us in recognizing the true face of our leaders. Thanks a lot dude, for this inspirational stuff. Keep up your effective work.