19 June 2019 09:31 am Views - 671
Thomas Jefferson said “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom,” our people do not know what it is to be ‘Honest’ – the much maligned phrase ‘Honesty is the best policy’ does not apply in the case of our politicians; they would rather not know what Honesty is, they want to do without it!!! If they were brutally honest, they would realize that the bomb blast survivours of the three churches; need to be looked after, most importantly they need to be rehabilitated!!! Has the government or even the churches done anything about putting up rehabilitation centers so these poor people can be attended to and have their psychological needs addressed??? We cannot even begin to comprehend the depths of their anguish in the context of the horror they have faced!!!
Easter carnage happened because there was a complete breakdown
Daily we are confronted with so many billions in cash and other assets recovered and massive hauls of weapons taken in by the Police but the non sequitur is that all these suspects are released, some almost immediately!!! HONEST TRUTH!!! WHAT PURPOSE IS ACHIEVED AND HOW IS JUSTICE SERVED??? HONESTLY, IS THERE A PRICE ON CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE???
Intriguing situations keep emerging which carry threats to the sovereignty of our country and the political masterminds behind all this intrigue and deceit continue to remain totally oblivious to the impact it will have on the country and its people, as a whole!!! Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera carried out a fast to convey his displeasure that a Minister and two Governors were not removed from their posts!!! While it is commendable that he opted not to create chaos by silently conveying his protest; Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith affirmed that this problem would not have blown out of proportion if the President and Prime Minister had not aided and abetted the terrorist attacks!!! While this is true, we wonder why the government has taken so long to initiate probes on the Easter Sunday terror attacks!!! However, it is heartening to note that a Rs. 500 million fund has been established to help children disabled or orphaned due to the Easter Sunday carnage!!! Nothing concrete has yet been established and we, the people, have yet to be told the real perpetrators of this tragedy!!! In all fairness to the Muslims, we have to acknowledge that they did assist the Armed Forces in rooting out some of the individuals concerned!!! It is sad that in relation to Ven. Rathana Thera’s fast which, as we said earlier, was conducted peacefully, that some elements have found it necessary to try to create chaos by closing shops and hoisting black flags in a bid to incite the people!!! Most unfairly, Mangala Samaraweera has attributed an ulterior motive to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s visit to the fasting Ven. Rathana Thera!!! When will our people ever learn??? Can’t Mangala get it into that thick skull of his that had it not been for Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s calm clear thinking and exhortation to the Catholics, there would have been bloodshed in the country!!!
I believe that what the great Rabindranath Tagore said so many aeons ago is most appropriate for our poor country today and I quote:
Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)
-THE VOICE -