POLITICS NOT A DIRTY GAME

I think it was Stephen R. Covey, author of the Eighth Habit, who said you must be trustworthy to be trusted. 
This man, who unfortunately died only recently after authoring another best seller in the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, was a guru when it came to personal transformation and human behavioural habits.

His unrivalled intellect on the human soul and acumen on business enterprises and the people who work for them meant that he became a revered business guru.
I would recommend his books to anyone who wants to grow as an individual and a leader. Most importantly though, Covey was a devout Christian.

His writings, of which there are many, are insightful and provoke personal change because they somehow force one to look at himself introspectively before one goes on to pass judgment on others.
I could say my article for today has been inspired by this man to some degree.
I got thinking recently about the great progress that would be made by Swaziland if all of us trusted one another because, after all, we would all be trustworthy. 

Our politics, especially, would be vastly sanitised among other things.
Someone out there, if not everyone, would dismiss this notion of collective trustworthiness as naïve on my part to contemplate but please humour me here.

Let us assume it is possible, however, unrealistic the thought may sound.
One thing I am certain of, though, is that collective trustworthiness would not stop politicians from debating matters.

They would continue to debate issues as before but this time around it would be because they want to understand than because they do not trust the intentions of the other. Debates would still be vibrant as they have been but only this time they would be motivated by harmonious and selfless intentions as opposed to selfish and devious manoeuvrings.

In short, government decisions would be faster, implementation would be sure-footed and efficiency assured because everyone would be in one accord; there would be no time-consuming and silly shenanigans which consume a lot of time as one party tries to elude the other. 

Interest

Bills coming to Parliament would be looked at from the position of trust without the nagging suspicion that someone somewhere has drafted a bill for his personal interest, or in order to accumulate powers which he can then use to persecute his perceived enemies.
If that high level of trust can be attained it means that all bills debated would be naturally taken for granted that they are meant for the public good rather personal aggrandisement.

All judgments issued by our courts would be taken as free of or untainted by external influence or interference.
All pronouncements made by government, however uncomfortable they may sound or feel to many people, would be generally taken as good for the country in the longer term. That is the benefit of trust.
However, trust must be earned.

Circulars crafted either for wages or benefits for politicians or civil servants would be done based on acceptable moral grounds because there is unquestionable justification and ample feasibility in terms of budget and whatnot.
Public backlash would be unlikely because the majority of the people would be in agreement based on trust.
I can hear you say: “Jan is dreaming of utopia here.”

Well, if I am dreaming, as most likely I am, do not wake me up just yet because the dream is more pleasant than the terrible reality we all live through each and every day. Dreams can be funny.
They can help us escape our reality for a while  and I don’t know if this is a good thing or not.

However, they can also help us to inspire change, and this is definitely a good thing. Whatever change is needed must always begin with us because we cannot preach what we, ourselves, do not subscribe to.

We cannot preach about corruption when we ourselves are corrupt only that our corruption has not yet been exposed because people fear repercussions by exposing us. We cannot preach about neighbourliness and fair play when we are the most hateful and intolerant people the country has ever known.
In other words we should not have double standards.

At any rate, if we trusted each other, the synergies that could be achieved would be  so amazing that the First World vision would not be a mammoth impossibility. Unfortunately the very sad reality on the ground is that we look at each other with squinted eyes.
We all have genuine reasons for that, not least because we all have been untrustworthy to each other for far too long to be worthy of trust.
To decide to trust anybody nowadays without reservations, especially someone with a name preceded by Honourable or Excellency is a risk that should not be taken without extreme caution.

To take anything said by some politician without a pinch of salt is imprudent unless that particular politician has earned the street credentials of truthfulness and the stripes of consistency at that.

I am not saying that whenever a politician is about to speak, you must always have the salt and pepper shaker ready but all I am saying is that you must be wary of giving your reservoirs of trust to those who say one thing and do another, especially those that have tirelessly proven to be master manipulators of the truth.
Those people would care less about anything or anybody except themselves, especially when it comes to matters involving money or personal benefits. 

Do not trust anybody until those people have earned the trust they seek from you. Trust is earned and it cannot be demanded or legislated.

Character

It takes time to earn trust and a lot of consistency and persistency. Trust does not come along with the official title you have been given but it comes with personal character.
Being officially called Honourable does not imply personal honour on one’s part. Being called Excellency does not automatically imply absence of debauchery on one’s part.
Being called bishop does not automatically imply holiness.

An official title does not symbolise who you are as a person nor does it necessarily define your character; which is why we cannot always hide behind these official titles as one day they will be taken away from us to reveal exactly what we have always been - ugly to the core.    
We can begin the journey towards being trustworthy today, then make it a habit.

A habit can quickly become a lifestyle. We can stop today being manipulators of the truth and become sincere among and to ourselves.
We can begin today to ditch greed and become selfless in everything we do, especially if we are leaders who wish to be respected.
Politics has never been a dirty game, only the people are dirty.
However, it is not too late to sanitise this profession, if you can call it that.
The first step has to start with you and I; today; now.
I will cross my fingers that we all succeed. If I am wrong I will not be the first one to hope against a hopeless situation.
 

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