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Rattling Skeletons in the Closet Raises Public's Hackles

The old saying that “Politics is a dirty sport” has been justified many times over in almost every country in the world based on the numerous new reports of official corruption, misuse of official power and in many extreme cases the killing of opponents, critics and whistle blowers. Political machinations and misconduct have always been an aggravating but accepted necessary evil in many developing nations. Developed nations were supposed to have a greater level of transparency as well as checks and balances to prevent political transgression, but under the new reign of terror many checks have been lifted and there is an imbalance in favor of political figures limiting the rights of ordinary civilians. Cases of citizens being harmed due to political malfeasance have merited little or no publicity due to a combination of factors - the short attention span of the general public, the priority coverage given to multiple conflicts and wars around the globe, effective gagging of key officials and witnesses by powerful political arm-twisting and the inability of the aggrieved civilians to obtain effective legal aid. It is befitting on this Halloween, to remember Edgar Allan Poe’s short story of the “Tell-Tale Heart” and remind errant politicians that sooner or later the public always gets to the heart of the matter.

Comments

great leaders...giving heir life to the hereafter for their people....
The power is often snatched by those wanting to
abuse it...Stalin Hitler Manson Pol Pot..
I am the people
and then they turn on the people
abusing their power
and being shunned brought back
and abusing again
a very real
and brave poem!

Thank U!

Mr Wolf!

Your list of leaders exemplify the Rhyku - all of them had skeletons in the closet and paid dearly for their sins of omission and commission.

Your list can be further augmented up to the present troubled times where political cons have committed war crimes ranging from illegal invasions to serial bombardment of natives in their own strip of land . The reasons for the war crimes range from greed to control resources like oil to greed to control land disenfranchising natives who have lived on the land continuously for millennia.

"You’ll find there’s room for us all." - Mahatma Gandhi - this moral icon walked the talk by going on a fast until Hindu and Muslim Indians stopped killing each other. Both sides did stop killing because they respected and adored the Man of Peace. Today, radical leaders are trying to resurrect the spectre of conflict for their narrow aims.

To stop the insanity of ever-widening conflict and war, Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent and peaceful approach is the need of the hour.

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