Agony of the election: Mulling over political power<\/p>\n
Thomas Hidya Tjaya, Jakarta<\/p>\n
During this presidential election week voters are, once again,
\nfaced with a difficult decision over electing their leaders. For
\na variety of reasons the decision may be agonizing for many. A
\nlarge number of people have complained about the lack of strong,
\ncharismatic leaders among the candidates. Others find all the
\ncandidates' weaknesses too much to bear.<\/p>\n
In such circumstances it is no surprise that abstention has
\nbecome an attractive option. Some prospective voters believe that
\nby not casting their vote they will be blameless and take no
\nresponsibility whatsoever if the leaders elected end up ruining
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
Here we find the agony that voters often find themselves in
\nwhen it comes to an election. Given the unattractive character of
\nthe present candidates, they find it difficult to establish
\ncriteria for the vote. When people ask, \"Whom will you vote
\nfor?\", there is usually a lingering anxiety on their part about
\ntheir own choice.<\/p>\n
Some political analysts have suggested that people cast their
\nvote according to their conscience. But the pluses and minuses
\nregarding the suitability of the candidates for leadership often
\nappear to have equal weight. As a result, the decision about the
\nvote is often made on a whim in the polling booth.<\/p>\n
Such feelings of anxiety and uncertainty over the vote are
\nfully understandable. People are deeply aware that their
\nindividual votes will make a great difference collectively. Once
\na particular pair of candidates gets elected and the General
\nElections Commission announces the result of the election, there
\nis no turning back.<\/p>\n
Since the candidates are officially elected through a
\ndemocratic process, people (and the other candidates, too) should
\naccept the result graciously. They may immediately begin to
\nimagine what the country will look like in the upcoming five
\nyears under the new leadership.<\/p>\n
Different people will raise different questions about the
\nnewly elected and their governing style: Are they market-
\nfriendly? Are they really going to fight against corruption as
\nthey promised in their campaign? Are they serious about improving
\nthe quality of life of the poor and eradicating all forms of
\ndiscrimination in this country? There will be many such questions
\nindeed.<\/p>\n
I guess this is one of the greatest worries for voters: What
\nif the country takes a turn for the worse under the new
\nleadership? What if they (deliberately) fail to live up to the
\ngood promises they have made, and instead of serving the public
\ninterest, seek to promote whatever is to their own personal
\nadvantage? Citizens everywhere always worry that the leaders of
\ntheir country abuse the power they wield. Politicians often
\nunscrupulously do whatever they can do, thinking that they can
\nget away with it.<\/p>\n
The recent interview of Bill Clinton by Dan Rather in 60
\nMinutes reveals precisely this point. Talking about his sexual
\nrelationship with Monica Lewinsky, Clinton admitted, \"I did it
\nfor the worst possible reason.\" The reason he was referring to
\nwas simply because he could do it: \"Just because I could. I think
\nthat's just about the most morally indefensible reason anybody
\ncould have for doing anything.\" Here the distinction between what
\none can do and what one should do becomes crucial.<\/p>\n
The fact that one can commit a particular deed does not
\nentitle one to do it. Clinton acknowledges that that was the
\nworst possible reason for doing anything. When the line of
\ndemarcation between our capacity for doing something and the
\nnecessity for doing so gets blurred, what we often end up making
\nis a big mistake. This danger is particularly apparent among
\npoliticians, as they often do things using their political power,
\nthinking that nobody is going to stop them and that they will get
\naway with it.<\/p>\n
This brings to mind the conversation between Socrates and his
\nfriends in Plato's famous book, the Republic. One of Socrates'
\ninterlocutors, Glaucon, tries to convince his friends that the
\nwill to do justice voluntarily is very difficult to come by.
\nUsing a myth that recounts the power of a certain ring to make a
\nperson wearing it invisible, he observes that no one, in
\npossession of such a ring, would be \"so incorruptible that he
\nwould stay on the path of justice or stay away from other
\npeople's property, when he could take whatever he wanted from the
\nmarketplace with impunity.\"<\/p>\n
His conclusion is hard to swallow, though it sounds true:
\n\"One is never just, willingly, but only when compelled to be. No
\none believes justice to be a good when it is kept private, since,
\nwherever a person thinks he can do injustice with impunity, he
\ndoes it.\" While not everybody will agree with his thought, this
\nobservation may at least serve as a warning that each of us,
\nincluding politicians, may do things, not out of necessity but
\nrather simply because we can. Those who wield power tend to
\nsuccumb to such a temptation, thinking that the very power will
\nshield them from taking responsibility for the action.<\/p>\n
If this is the case, what can we do, in particular in the
\ncontext of the election under way? There are at least two
\nrelevant points worth making here.<\/p>\n
First, we may hope that the newly elected leaders will keep
\nthe promises they have made. We may have to rely on their moral
\nintegrity to serve the people of this country sincerely.<\/p>\n
Second, since power tends to corrupt, even at the expense of
\nthe future of this country, we should make an extra effort to
\nensure that the system of checks and balances on the new
\ngovernment's power works.<\/p>\n
A variety of political institutions and the media should be
\nencouraged to play a more active part in combating the abuse of
\npower. The election is just the beginning of another political
\njourney for the country. It would be best, therefore, to stay
\nalert from the outset to things that may ruin all of us as a
\nnation.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer at the Driyarkara School of
\nPhilosophy in Jakarta and a Fordham University graduate.<\/p>",
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