LEGISLATORS AND POLITICAL leaders are policy makers. People place their trust in them and believe that they will set the right norms for good governance. Trustworthy legislators in turn will undertake the right consultations and take their people into confidence before they finalise the laws of the land. But, this is only the ideal of good governance and the reality is often far different, whether it is democracy or authoritarian.
The history of the Church in the Middle Ages tells us about the clergy who considered themselves as the custodians of wisdom. They told the people ‘not to think’, because their priests would think for them! In modern times, the people in power have assumed the role of the clergy of the past. The policy makers endanger themselves with a false sense of possessing the best knowledge and wisdom. They believe in their ‘infallibility’ and value their wisdom over that of the collective understanding of their countrymen.
We often hear people say, “I believe what I see.” But sadly, they do a whole lot of looking without really seeing much. Seeing implies more than having good eyesight. One’s eyes can be wide open but one may be seeing very little. And what is seen need not represent the whole truth. Hence an attempt to draw conclusions as absolutes from only what is seen, would make one the object of laughter.
The current crisis in Hong Kong is nothing particular to Hong Kong alone. Issues in Palestine would prick the conscience of the world for turning a deaf ear to the cries of the aggrieved and hence, the struggle continues even today. The struggle for the freedom of Timor Leste from Indonesia witnessed torture and the massacre of innocents less than two decades ago. Yet the iron will of the people prevailed. Kashmir in India, is a dormant volcano that emits dust and fumes which could erupt at any moment. Foreign media recently published an article on the Kashmir crisis saying that “India has just created it’s own West Bank!
There is a fascinating scene in the Acts of the Apostles that describes Paul immediately after he was struck blind by his vision. When he got up off the ground with his eyes wide open, but could see nothing! This doesn’t necessarily mean physical blindness. He wasn’t seeing the meaning of all the animosity towards the followers of Jesus. Someone had to come and open his eyes, so that he could see more deeply into the mystery of Christ. We all see the surface of things, but what’s beneath remains unseen.
In the gospels, we see Jesus perform a number of healings. We see this most clearly at those times when Jesus heals people who are blind. He’s giving them more than just physical sight; he’s opening their eyes so that they can see more deeply. How can the grace and teachings of Jesus help us to see in a deeper way? The need of the hour is that the government as well as the protestors get chances to come around a table to sort out their differences. This will help them to look deeper and comprehend better.
Nothing taints our eyesight as much as anger. We need to change this by shifting our eyes from seeing through anger to seeing through forgiveness. Nothing cleanses our vision as much as forgiveness. Nobody holding a grudge sees straight. Seeing straight has more dimensions than we normally imagine. jose
