Published as Lead article in oHeraldo on February 28, 2022
The near to 80% voter turnout in the Goa State Elections 2022 was heartening in the backdrop of the virus scare and a high level of disillusionment in citizens arising from the political confusion. Those who exercised their right and duty to vote deserve to be commended, though efforts need to be made to increase the total voting percentage in future. The Election Commission of India too deserves appreciation for the smooth and largely peaceful conduct of polling, barring the stain of a postal ballot controversy.
Now that the focus shifts to the poll results which are anxiously awaited, it may be worthwhile reflecting on the political climate which prevailed over the last several months leading to the voting day. Was the campaign reflective of goemkarponn? Did it meet the political standards one would expect of an 84% literate State like Goa?
The tactics employed in this election by parties and contestants in a bid to drive their political narrative and outsmart the opponents in the electoral fray, as never before, often failed to respect the dignity and rights of the other person. The abuse of technology and social media to create confusion by circulating conspiracy theories, rumours and deep fakes deserve outright condemnation. In some cases, even family members were dragged in unnecessarily. It was outrageous of political parties and politicians to have spent such extravagant sums of money in campaigning, vote-buying and exploiting the vulnerabilities of the voters in these difficult times of rising unemployment and high inflation. The suspense over which candidate will emerge triumphant and which political parties will get the numbers to form the government may end within a week, however ,the enmities in the community resulting from elections sometimes remain for years together.
Unfortunately, it's not a trend in our country for psychology researchers to assess the impact of an election process on the mental health of individuals and society at large. Neither are we as citizens bothered to reflect on how the political environment affects us mentally. The denial we live in causes us to be obsessed with the morality of politicians rather than focusing on ourselves and figuring out the corruption in our own thinking and behaviour as citizens. The compulsion to expose the Judases in politics springs from a reluctance by citizens to admit their own generous and tacit collaboration in the political decay. There was some glimpse of sanity in a Konkani humour video which attempted to shift the focus beyond the betrayal of one man Judas to an even greater sin of the public; the people’s preference for a criminal Barabas and rejection of an innocent Jesus till death on the cross.
Another factor which raised many eyebrows was the role of the clergy in this political carnival. While it cannot be denied that they do have a role in the moral formation of their followers, however, the timing and the approach adopted does raise many questions. Politics being a civil affair and considered the domain of the laity, where does the role of the clergy in politics end and where should the political responsibility of the laity begin? Or was it the bureaucratic style of administration, which Pope Francis decries as a disease, showing symptoms of downright indispensability and exhibitionism, among others, under the veil of moral guidance?
Goa’s political disease is much more complicated than what it is made to appear. A clinical psychologist, Dr Anne Wilson Schaef in her acclaimed book ‘When society becomes an addict’ compares American culture to an active alcoholic. The same when applied to Goan culture makes a lot of sense. From the pulpits to the streets, the community’s interactions are caught in a vicious cycle of power and money addiction; a process addiction. The ajeeb-ness (strangeness) attributed to Goans and the gajab-ness (astoundingness) of their politics is perhaps nothing more than a denial arising from a process addiction operating under labels of caste, religion and business interests. What looks strange and astounding to the political commentators may actually be the outcome of power and money addiction.
The thinking and behaviour of citizens in a corrupt and deceptive politics is nothing different from family members who unconsciously adopt dysfunctional roles to cope with the chemical addict. This is why the anger and frustration displayed by citizens all through the years against politicians and governments ultimately does not reflect in the election results. While corruption and criminality in politics are condemned by the people, it is the corrupt oppressors that they end up electing to government. Both, the politicians and citizens need each other to feel comfortable in a dysfunctional political system. Perhaps, psychology experts in our universities and colleges need to research on Goa’s socio-political crisis from this perspective. Such an understanding may in turn help in generating realistic and effective social interventions for change.
Currently, if one honestly dares to critically reflect on Goa’s crisis, the realisation could be frightening and depressing. We may discover our foolishness in believing that the current levels of political insanity will throw up clean and capable people’s representatives in this election. We may once again see Goans placing their trust and futures in the hands of power and money addicts, with an irrational expectation that the State’s resources will be in safe hands and Goemkarponn will be protected. For now, all we can expect is nothing more than entertaining and populist revolutionaries, but political astuteness will continue to evade the Goan psyche.
(The author is a Social Activist who has worked in creating awareness on the issue of local self-governance)
https://www.heraldgoa.in/Edit/Opinions/Will-the-election-verdict-reflect-the-Goans%E2%80%99-political-astuteness/187115
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