Selling slogans

The proverb ‘empty vessels make the most noise’ aptly describes how our politicians behave inside and outside parliament – talking non-stop without putting in any serious effort to present a coherent view of issues.

Accusing their opponents for every evil, vowing loyalty to the country, and pledging support to the poor are the rhetorical devices they use in speeches and press conferences every day.

But unfortunately empty slogans do not change anything on ground. The primary duty of parliamentarians is to identify challenges that the state and society face and come up with effective policies after thorough debate in parliament. But what has been observed, during the current government in particular, is the absence of rational discussion on political, economic, and strategic issues.

The budget, for example, which sets the economic direction and priorities for the next financial year, was dumped in trashcan through naming and shaming tactics. MPs, sitting on both sides of the aisle, may have hardly found time to scan through a few pages of the budget document at least for personal information. Threats and derogatory remarks may earn some short-term political dividend but they have historically kept decent individuals away from active politics.

The ignorance is even more pronounced when they (the MPs) ever talk about foreign policy and its changing contours in response to external pressures and internal constraints. To conceal their inability to articulate a logical explanation for a particular foreign policy choice or to offer constructive criticism, they turn to base slogans.

Even more dangerous to democracy are the inadvertent attempts of some MPs to tarnish the image of parliament and make a mockery of its role in the larger scheme of things. The supremacy of parliament is enshrined in the constitution but the way its members and others treat it is against the ideals they claim to protect. Persistence absence of some key MPs from its important sessions, arrogance of ministers to answer vital queries, and hurling abuses in public gatherings make parliament nothing more than an assembly of the unfit, elected by the unwilling to do the unnecessary.

Politics becoming shallow has to do in large part with some inherent flaws in democracy itself. Democracy, as is in vogue around the world today, gives relatively more importance to emotions than reason. The rise of populism in mature democracies is the outcome of some individuals appealing to fear and hatred as a sure route to grabbing political power. Since emotions are amenable to vivid incidents, anecdotal stories of injustice, and nostalgic view of the past, what one requires to attract and mobilize crowds is just foul language and false promises.

Now political leaders have internalized the idea that shouting works and so they are not only developing the skill themselves but also hiring people with big mouths to do the shouting job for them at every forum. The general public, because of the inability to discriminate between fact and fiction, tend to follow the current fads in politics. Old wine is brought to them in new bottles decorated with fascinating symbols and slogans.

The education system that a thriving democracy requires is not the one we have in Pakistan. For people to hold their representatives accountable in what they say and do, they must have the ability to think, reason, reflect, and care. Education institutions and the media should create conditions for individuals to explore, state the unpopular, challenge poorly reasoned positions, and wrestle with convoluted theories being promoted in the name of unity.

The writer teaches at SZABIST, Islamabad.

Email: dr.zeb@szabist-isb.edu.pk