{"id":183429,"date":"2017-10-26T00:00:37","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T18:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=183429"},"modified":"2017-10-29T22:51:08","modified_gmt":"2017-10-29T17:21:08","slug":"dementias-can-be-shed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/","title":{"rendered":"Dementias Can Be Shed"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Malinda Seneviratne<\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Malinda Seneviratne<\/p><\/div>\n

Teddy Ameresekere offers a pithy and pertinent elaboration of the meaning of dementia: \u2018The former regime has forgotten why they were chased out and the present can\u2019t remember why they were elected.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Those who believed or were hopeful that the\u00a0yahapalanists<\/i><\/a>\u00a0would bring about \u2018change\u2019 are largely silent.\u00a0<\/span>Some have resolved to dwell on small gains and talk about better times to come.\u00a0<\/span>The more honest criticize the Government, urging it to do better.\u00a0<\/span>In Sinhala they say that\u2019s like believing one can obtain feathers from tortoises.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As for those who are against this Government, they ask tongue-in-cheek, \u2018\u0dc0\u0dd9\u0db1\u0dc3 \u0dc3\u0dd0\u0db4\u0daf?\u2019 (is the change pleasing?).\u00a0<\/span>Implies is that \u2018change\u2019 was for the worse and not better.\u00a0<\/span>This, however, is not true.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The 19th Amendment<\/a> was a joke.\u00a0<\/span>The Right to information<\/a> Act was not.\u00a0<\/span>That was an important \u2018honeymoon period dividend\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>However, if you are talking about corruption, embezzlement abuse of state resources, infringement on the freedom of expression, use of police brutality, suppression of democratic rights, crippling of the judiciary, legislative subterfuge, abuse of power and authority and so on, then there\u2019s no \u2018venasa\u2019. The \u2018achievements\u2019 of this Government in close to just three years is appalling and alarming.\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s almost like a repeat of the previous regime, but fast-tracked.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Teddy is both write and wrong, and moreover his observation, classic though it is, is incomplete.\u00a0<\/span>Simply, the \u2018why\u2019 of it is irrelevant to politicians.\u00a0<\/span>In the first case, the defeated will attribute defeat to reasons other than those Teddy probably thought of \u2014 deficiencies (which the\u00a0yahapalanists<\/i>, Teddy believes, were serious about correcting).\u00a0<\/span>In the latter case, clearly rhetoric exceeded intention by quite a margin.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This does not mean that there\u2019s been no \u2018forgetting,\u2019 however, and that\u2019s the missing part in Teddy\u2019s claim: \u2018The people forget that those who they elect forget those who elected them.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

We have always elected \u2018known devils.\u2019\u00a0<\/span>Only the utterly innocent and the fiercely loyal would believe the parties they\u2019ve helped bring to power were angels.\u00a0<\/span>Some might think \u2018relatively better\u2019 and might even say it if they were honest.\u00a0<\/span>For the most part we\u2019ve pressed the \u2018default button.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is true of the \u2018Yahapalana Option\u2019 as well.\u00a0<\/span>That \u2018move\u2019 was led by individuals such as Chandrika Kumaratunga<\/a>, Ranil Wickremesinghe<\/a> and Rajitha Senaratne<\/a>, none of whom are angels or seen as such.\u00a0<\/span>And then there is Maithripala Sirisena<\/a>, a senior member of the previous regime.\u00a0<\/span>The Premadasa Excuse (\u2018I was nothing more than a peon\u2019) doesn\u2019t really hold.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

So, what this all means, is that the people either knew and didn\u2019t care or they forget easily.\u00a0<\/span>They forgot the track records of those they voted for and they forget that you can\u2019t get feathers from tortoises.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just about elections, electing and the elected.\u00a0<\/span>Those determined to protect or spread a doctrine (be it Buddhism, Islam, Christianity or Marxism) appear to have forgotten the basic tenets relevant to their preferences.\u00a0<\/span>Substance is readily (and even consciously?) subsumed by label.\u00a0<\/span>And so we can ask those who style themselves as defenders of the Sinhala Buddhists<\/a> what their \u2018Sinhalaness\u2019 is and what kind of \u2018Buddhism<\/a>\u2019 do they obtain from to justify word and action.\u00a0<\/span>We can ask similar questions from evangelical zealots peddling their version of \u2018Christianity\u2019 and from those espousing \u2018Radical Islam\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>We can ask why Marxists and Leftists in general don\u2019t talk of class and are so reluctant to criticize capitalism (leave alone taking it head on!).\u00a0Marxists might wonder why workers lack working class consciousness.\u00a0<\/span>Some might ask if the bourgeoisie knows its class interest.\u00a0<\/span>And some might remember the following paragraph in the Communist Manifesto:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honoured and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage labourers.\u2026 All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new-formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober sense, his real conditions of life, and his relations with his kind.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Well, one must question the claim of compulsion considering all the forgetting, real or feigned, alluded to above.\u00a0<\/span>Perhaps, one can interject, that it is \u2018sober sense\u2019 that produces the dementia that Teddy refers to.\u00a0<\/span>Perhaps it is an acquired or imposed sense of helplessness that makes people appear to be slothful in analysis and decision, to deliberately forget, if you will.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

True reasons and confessions notwithstanding we have come to or pushed towards a state of \u2018making do\u2019 or appear to have arrived at that unhappy place.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, since we are taking from Marx and Engles here, just as we are conditioned by circumstances, we can shape the circumstances as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We have hit a wall and we hit it a long time ago ladies and gentlemen. And we keep banging our heads against it.\u00a0<\/span>Perhaps it is time to look for ways around it.\u00a0<\/span>That wall could be many things or be made of many things, but a key element of it is the party system as we have it in this country and a political culture of self-delusion come election time pushing us to opt for \u2018default\u2019 and to think politics begin with the announcement of an election and ends with the declaration of winner(s).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is time to start remembering.\u00a0<\/span>Let us remember that the villains who ruled and rule exchanging places and visiting cards as per changed circumstances are not interested in remembering the people in any serious manner.\u00a0<\/span>They don\u2019t represent and are not interested in representing the citizenry.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Let us remember to forget, then.\u00a0<\/span>Let us remember to forget these usurpers of franchise and desecraters of sovereignty.\u00a0<\/span>Let us remember that recovery of such things is our business.\u00a0<\/span>Let\u2019s get serious about our business.\u00a0<\/span>Let\u2019s forget those who arrogantly and with intention of deceit wear the messiah badge are essentially (as history has shown) are not interested in leading the masses to any \u2018promised land\u2019 of any kind of verdancy.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Let us shed our various dementias.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Let us opt out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

*Malinda Seneviratne is a freelance writer. Email:\u00a0<\/i>malindasenevir@gmail.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Blog:\u00a0www.malindawords.blogspot.com<\/a><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":137374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,46,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-constitutional-reforms","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nDementias Can Be Shed - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dementias Can Be Shed - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-10-25T18:30:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-29T17:21:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"279\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"356\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Malinda Seneviratne\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Malinda Seneviratne\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/\",\"name\":\"Dementias Can Be Shed - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-25T18:30:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-29T17:21:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c6d24e0ae978470bd40e92d7d50f8ea3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg\",\"width\":279,\"height\":356,\"caption\":\"Malinda Seneviratne\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dementias Can Be Shed\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c6d24e0ae978470bd40e92d7d50f8ea3\",\"name\":\"Malinda Seneviratne\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0a7ffc2e0a0e760dc3fcfd1d7a3942cc98d989fccd85f0c214437b94f6d271d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0a7ffc2e0a0e760dc3fcfd1d7a3942cc98d989fccd85f0c214437b94f6d271d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Malinda Seneviratne\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/mals\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dementias Can Be Shed - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dementias Can Be Shed - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2017-10-25T18:30:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-10-29T17:21:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":279,"height":356,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Malinda Seneviratne","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Malinda Seneviratne","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/","name":"Dementias Can Be Shed - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg","datePublished":"2017-10-25T18:30:37+00:00","dateModified":"2017-10-29T17:21:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c6d24e0ae978470bd40e92d7d50f8ea3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg","width":279,"height":356,"caption":"Malinda Seneviratne"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/dementias-can-be-shed\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dementias Can Be Shed"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c6d24e0ae978470bd40e92d7d50f8ea3","name":"Malinda Seneviratne","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0a7ffc2e0a0e760dc3fcfd1d7a3942cc98d989fccd85f0c214437b94f6d271d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0a7ffc2e0a0e760dc3fcfd1d7a3942cc98d989fccd85f0c214437b94f6d271d?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Malinda Seneviratne"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/mals\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Malinda.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183429"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183432,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183429\/revisions\/183432"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}