If one had to see this country from afar, one would see a progressive government boasting 6.3 per cent economic growth, an Opposition on a crusade to throw stones and a public that has no role model for its future. Are we lost or is there still hope?
The government is constantly parading the 6.3 per cent growth as its greatest achievement. Even though I will not ask how sustainable this is, I still find myself looking at a government whose main concern is prosperity for the prosperous. After all, how much is the person in the street feeling this surge in the economy in his wallet and in his heart?
Economic growth depends a great deal on the distribution of income for it to be felt by the public. An equal distribution of income means that there is no difference between how much the rich and poor make in terms of income. It is understandable that equal distribution of income is not possible. Because of this, we cannot use economic growth as the only yardstick for the economy. To my mind, any economy should understand and value quality of life as its metric for growth.
Values are to humans what a rudder is to a ship
After losing the election because of alleged corruption, the Opposition is on a crusade to tarnish the government. There is good coming out of this, as people are being shaken a bit out of apathy. Still I do question, is the Opposition working for honest politics or is it working for a premier seat?
I also question how much fighting corruption really works. When invited to an anti-war rally, Mother Theresa once replied: “If you invite me to a pro-peace rally I will come.” What she implied was that we should focus on promoting what is positive rather than fighting the negative: to be pro, not anti.
With the current scandals on parade all over Malta, an illusion is being created that people should value deceit, greed and selfishness in order to survive and be happy. We need our politicians to be people we can look up to for trustworthy personal values rather than putting us on a path of perdition.
Martin Luther King gave his ‘I have a Dream’ speech, and it changed the US. Mahatma Gandhi believed that independence could be obtained with no violence and did it for India. Nelson Mandela believed in freedom and brought it to everyone in South Africa, even to the ones who had oppressed him for 23 years.
These people changed their nations by bringing their personal values to the table. By doing this, they forged the shape of the world. We need our politicians not only to speak of abstract ideas and values but to live by them.
Values are to humans what a rudder is to a ship. The values we choose influence all our life decisions. When we choose values that are selfish, things become very unbalanced to other people.
Likewise, values that are based on the common good allow balance, fulfillment and harmony across the nation.
Through the Panama leaks, we are seeing that deceit and selfishness don’t have long-term profit. By embracing values that are for the good of all rather for the good of the few, this country will have true hope for the future.
A future based not on what one can get for oneself but on what one can give, because it is when we give to others that we are truly the happiest.
Let us and our leaders ask, what do we believe in and value? How can these values be made to benefit all and not the few? What steps do we need to take to ensure honesty, happiness and prosperity?
The following verse from the Vedic tradition can offer us a model to answer these questions.
I believe that if we hold this verse in our hearts, then not only will citizens survive but they will enjoy a prosperous quality of life. When we embrace such values personally, everyone prospers:
“May all beings everywherebe happy.
May all beings everywherebe happy.
May all be without disease.
May all creatures have well-being
And none be in misery of any kind.”
Adrian Xuereb Archer is a business developer and marketing tutor.