A time to resolve

With the Christmas carols giving way to the gusty singing of Auld Lang Syne at midnight and the many raucous greetings to the New Year, the time comes for the making of new resolutions, which one believes will change one's life for the better.

It is tempting to think of New Year resolutions for the big blunderers of the world such as Georgie W in Washington and his poodle across the Atlantic, Tony (B)liar. The best resolution for both will be to come to terms with their monumental folly over Iraq and get them out of it next year. But such a resolve is not likely to be made, because both will continue to think it is their right to fool the people, ignore their wishes and go against the popular will.

The Sun God holed up in the Vanni would do well if he resolved to allow the light of truth to enter his life even for a little while, and see what misery he has brought to the Tamil people, with his long and bloody meandering towards the unattainable goal of Eelam. "Not one more child to carry arms for me this year" will be a tough resolve for him to make, but would make a huge difference to his talk of liberation. "No More Claymore" will also echo the world over, without all the carnage his claymore blasts has caused all these years.

Ranil Alirajah must be as happy as an elephant chewing sugar cane seeing how he has subdued the rebel jumbos in his pack, and got a firm grip on the goad. Yet, he will need to a firm resolve to keep his herd from straying into those blue areas where they see more profit for themselves. Having done his first deal with the Wizard of Weeraketiya, who has kept politicians of all hues dancing to his tune through all of last year, Alirajah may have to think of firming up that deal with the blue leader to ensure his hold on the henduva.

Still among the Green ranks, Sakala Banda from Hanguranketa, who appears to have kissed goodbye to his dreams of jumbo leadership, at least for awhile, may have to consider resolving not to talk so much about taking to the streets. He's been talking of bringing the masses to the streets for so long, it's now quite boring. The green hordes may be there, but they certainly don't seem to want to follow him to the streets, just as how they didn't want to do much of street drama to get him out of prison.

Of streets and masses, the Bell Boys and Red, whose bell ringing does not herald another Christmas but a time of discontent, would do better if they resolve to talk less of having street jamborees of the political kind as demonstrations of their own version of people's power, and settle down to looking where they last missed the bus, in their declared intention to serve the people better. There is something stale in their repeated warnings of giving the works next time. Another good resolution for them would be to keep counting the number of local government seats they won the last time there was a count, and think of better ways of serving the people in those smaller areas, instead of those rash and impetuous claims to usher in the revolution at the next bend on the political trail.

It is obvious that those who have got to the helm of most trade unions today have little idea of what their function is, other than the mistaken belief that a strike is the first weapon to be used in a dispute.

To strike is the right of workers, once all other avenues are closed and the issue is big enough. One welcome resolution by these testy leaders of workers in the ports of state hospitals would be that of taking a second look at whether a threatened strike is the best means of resolving a dispute; and whether there are no other means available before the major plunge is taken. Such reflection would do wonders for everyone, including their own members, who are not living a life divorced from society.

The problem seems to be that our trade union leaders have grabbed the hammer on the proletarian flag into their own hands, and think it is their right to bludgeon all others with it.

There is another lot in our society who can help us all by making a firm resolve to serve the people, as they always claim to do, and sticking to it at least for the better part of the New Year. There are many resolutions that a politician can take that will help us all. It will be obviously too much to ask to them to do away with self-interest. That will give them no incentive to exist. All one can ask them is to have even a modicum of public interest in whatever they do, just to be true to the promises they made to the people.

It will also help if they can do with a little less of feathering their own nests, and leave a few feathers for the nests of the people.

The list is almost endless. It's too much to ask them to put the people before family, friends and hangers on. But can they resolve to be a wee bit less corrupt, and also a little bit less brazen about how they get about their corrupt deals?

Don't you worry that the world will change too fast if all these resolutions are observed. It's good to remember that resolutions, like most promises are also meant to be broken.

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