Lyndon B. Johnson is reported to have said that ‘A man without a vote is a man without protection.’ Well, he obviously didn’t mean a snide aside to the validity of condoms… but in India in 2014, the trio of votes, condoms, and security do seem to be humming together.
We are notoriously known to stay away from voting, condoms, and thus security. Look at our blooming population and you’ll know what I mean. Look at the sort of people who reach the Assemblies and the Parliament and you’ll know what I mean. Look at the sorry state of security – both internal and external – and you’ll know what I mean.
Some will say: ‘But I was brought up thinking that my vote is meaningless.’
Remember, it was a trap!
Others will say: ‘The religious leaders told us that children are a gift of God and that a condom is just a way to reduce us into a minority!’
Well, it was a trap!
Our politicians have been harping all these years about a capable police force and a well prepared and war-ready army.
Now we know it was a trap!
Traps are what we have been in all these years. I will recommend that we take the percentage of voting this time to an astounding 95%… I mean, there will always be a few who’d whine about not being there in the city where their vote is registered or that they are still not registered in the electoral roles. Barring this small section, let us get out and vote this time. And, for God’s sake, don’t turn around and say: ‘All these years I haven’t voted and I’ve got a government I deserve… but all these years you have voted and what have you got? You’ve got results that you never expected!’
This has happened because of the teeming millions who have never bothered to vote. We are today a nation with insecurity peeping from every nook and crevice because we have not taken our elections seriously… and this has sent the wrong set of people zipping towards seats of power and absolute mis-governance.
Listen, a vote is actually like a condom in your hands… and it protects you from catching any dreaded virus or bacteria. Well, condoms are also supposed to lead to population management which, in turn, leads to prosperity in all aspects and more security. Look at it this way… if 2 percent of us turn into criminals, it gets translated to just 2 in a 100 but 20 in a thousand. And believe me, the probability of a gang of twenty devious minds overpowering a thousand is far greater than two of them trying to con a hundred! Translated into millions, we have a high possibility of turning into a nation hollowed by crime… and this is precisely what is happening! So it is time that we took security seriously… the security of using condoms and the security of going out to vote!
The other day I overheard someone say: ‘Politics doesn’t interest me. So I won’t vote.’ Dammit, you are going to get an off-day and you are not supposed to loll around in bed but go and vote… and listen, let me quote Pericles for you: ‘Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.’ Politicians are really happier if most of us stay away from any interest in politics and leave them alone to convert India into what you see today… don’t let that happen. If you don’t vote, the politician is not going to cease being corrupt. Help the politician get cleaner… vote!
I’m sure a lot of you will turn to ask, ‘Who do I vote for?’ Phew! You are all such nincompoops! See, you will need to decide what sort of India you want… do you want to vote in the criminals and those who have been hoodwinking you all these years? Do you want the fundamentalist forces to reign? Are you happy with those who forget you as soon as they get elected? Try and search for answers… read the views expressed in newspapers… listen to debates on the TV channels… read what people are expressing in online forums… read about the history of the candidates from your locality… and then decide. But you really need to vote. Remember, votes, condoms, and a secure future go together. And I’m sure you will NOT turn and write to me: Your post ensnared me. It was a trap!
This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.
Arvind Passey
06 April 2014
This post is also published in ‘The Education Post’ dated 07 April 2014…
2014_04_07_The Education Post_Votes Condoms and a secure future
