Political connections—how about swimming against the tide?

There is no yardstick for measuring success but if one’s status in society improves for any reason, this is generally through success for any of many reasons. Success can come through academic qualifications, victories in sports, new appointments, promotions or even through producing work which is acclaimed by society at large.

When people start flocking around someone, it’s a fair indication that one is successful. If one is not influential then one is avoided like the plague. The higher one goes up the ladder of success, the greater the number of mates one acquires. People who have not bothered about you become so affectionate that you become doubtful whether you had formed a correct opinion about them in the past.

People know that the unsuccessful or poor members of society could do with their help but yet they go after the successful. They don’t help the needy, but keep pestering the influential ones. And if the successful person happens to be a politician who ceases to be on the chair, he finds that his affiliates dwindle once again as he is no more an asset and people can no longer cash in on his position.

It appears that today nothing gets done without using influence. In order to secure a favour one has to frequent the better placed even if one has differences with him. These are the ways of the world. One has either to swim with the tide or drown. Only a few have the courage and stamina to swim against the tide.

According to scriptures, a child can be bad but there is never a bad mother. That is not necessarily true of today’s age. One often sees mothers torturing their own flesh and blood while they talk like purified souls to others who hold positions. At such moments one’s faith in humanity gets shaken.

However when one looks around there are examples of people who live with fellow humans in a cordial manner irrespective of their wealth or status. Their words and affection heal one’s wounded soul when they talk against selfish ties and encourage sincere bonds. When reflecting on family ties or people of the same race or colour it is said, "Blood is thicker than water but bad blood is cancerous." It kills one everyday, scars one’s soul — even though the wounds are not visible.

In this materialistic age, we should make time to be considerate, kind and loving, share our joys and sorrows, be each other’s strength in crisis and make life worth living. Emotions fill colours in our life, without them the days are dull and imperfect relations backed with selfish motives make life even more dreary because to appease people one has to constantly lie by way of flattery.