Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
Politics is a combination of two Latin words ‘Poli’ and ‘Tics’ where “Poli” meaning “many” and “tics” meaning “bloodsucking creatures”- robin Williams. ‘Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature made them.”- Bertrand Russell. Politico phobia, or the despair of politics, is a catch-all term that envelops a wide range of individual fears ranging from political process, as well as from politicians. Election season is generally filled with character assassination. Campaign promises, and mudslinging heighten the effects, with each side trying desperately to convince voters that “bad things” will happen if the other side is elected. Difficulty with Indian voters is that we are not so aware about the value of our one vote, as a single vote can make a critical difference in the ultimate outcome of the election. We have never been taught that one of the penalties, for not wisely taking the elections, is that we end up being governed by our inferiors. “Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”- Abraham Lincoln. We are indecisive as to where we have to stand on the issues that are the real concern of the common man. We are mostly unfamiliar with Curriculum vitae (CV) of the contesting candidates thus we become victim of psychological catechize of political parties and their “psychological torture” that include all methods, techniques and circumstances which are intended or designed to purposefully brainwash and to suppress the self power of individuals in analyzing things, without using the conduit or effect of severe physical pain or suffering. Siphoning off of our analytical senses is a great hammer on our freedom of expression and use of our franchise. “Our freedoms are vanishing. If we do not get active to take a stand now against all that is wrong while we still can, then maybe one of our children may elect to do so in the future, when it will be far more risky and much, much harder.” – Suzy Kassem. Politicians have a tendency of avoiding direct answers to questions that are irritating to them. During election season, it seems that the entire country takes sides. From major corporations to individual religious leaders, politicians seek out endorsements that they feel can help their bid for election. The way politicians obsessed with power lust conduct arranged rallies, door to door campaigns, this way Elections are a significant source of stress. It would be virtually impossible to escape the election season altogether. The elections are woven into the fabric of our society. Election declamation is everywhere, from the kiosks to the marathon broadcast by paid channels. Psychological torture is weaponry in the hands of the politicians and their hired strategists use it to drive votes toward a particular candidate or party. Paid campaigners, with whom we tend to imagine conversations with people from the other side as if we were talking directly to the leaders of that side, drive votes away from political opponents that may involve strategies to project factual or misleading statements about the opposing candidate’s limitations or claims that an election victory for the opposition will lead to outright disaster projecting doubt about competency. A hired battalion by political parties especially by the ruling slot becomes active to constantly target and troll those who put their political opinion about ruling parties’ performances. The trolling is to achieve a specific result such as disrupting a rival’s online activities, purposefully causing confusion or harm to other users or manipulating a political process. Politicians search for evil in their opponents but they forget that they must first look at their own reflection. Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies-Ernest Benn.