The unity of this country is bound by a shimmering gossamer that belies its fragility.
How often do we read of a community insisting on elevated benefits that separate them from the diaspora that inhabits this country. How frequently do we find the leaders of this democracy advocating selective "equality" to bridge the unequal gap, further distanced due to this policy of duality.
Marginalization of the common man is not the solution to uplift the socially unequipped. But it surely breeds the inept from both stratas. The common turn reclusive and the disabled turn disinterested towards progress that is fueled by the spirit of competition. An old but relevant adage that captures the essence of the situation is "Give a man fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime".
The classic division between the have-some, and have-not is not diminishing but rather interpolating. The have-not are gaining the ability to afford without the skill to appreciate. The have-some drain themselves constantly into a set of need-some-more. And the have-all continue to exploit the system to engorge their ever expanding hunger for more.
This is definitely a troublesome phenomenon for a country looking to proceed into the future. While the past impacts the present, it should not design the future.
We need to disengage ourselves from our idealistic vision of a utopian state with equality of resources and embrace the reality of equality of opportunities that extends across the national demography. Quotas should be out-quoted by achievements. The policy to squeeze and seclude should be replaced by increase and include. We need to enforce clarity towards a set of goals that include our strength in numbers while reducing the pitfalls of our inability to manage these numbers.
To achieve success in our 2020 mission we need the clarity of 20/20 vision.
