The moral high jump

- Inderesh Kumar Jain

1. It is my perception that morality is to an individual as breath is to a humanbody. I take this view, as this in sum is what I have learnt from the experience of my life. I am often moved by what Ayn Rand had to say ie “ Morality is the judgement to distinguish right from wrong, vision to see the truth, courage to act upon it, dedication to that which is good, integrity to stand by the good at any price”. Theodore Roosevelt did also say “To educate a man in mind and not

in morals is to educate a menace in society”.

2. I hark to these two altruisms as I attempt to try and navigate through an intensely toxic and a virulent media barrage, based on the daily reportage, which has come to stay as the new normal.

3. This is particularly in context as one watches in stupefaction as to the depths to which the political discourse in the country has fallen. I refer to Azam Khan’s comment when participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha and while this was being enacted , a very gleeful Akhlesh Yadav was seated next to him, being from the same party and obviously with a very similar mind set. This is referring to his misogynist remarks when addressing Ms Rama Devi , who was

chairing the debate at that point of time.

4. If an elected member can make such reprehensible pronouncements in the Lok Sabha, which as some put it, is ‘hallowed’ and the fount of the collective wisdom of the country, then pray what would one expect to happen in the streets of our towns and villages. Is this the new normal towards which we are headed? It is a frightening thought.

5. An elected representative is elected by the electorate , based on a large number of perceptibles, not the least of which is character. As someone elected to represent his constituents, if this is the manner one denigrates oneself and inter alia those who put one in that position of advantage, the sin is multiplied exponentially. I am sure that we have a right to expect a certain standard of behavior from such people who euphemistically call themselves

leaders. By displaying this crassness as they go about their daily business, they demean the very institution of ‘elections’.

6. Such people who have a history of such abhorrent behavior (he referred to Ms Jaya Prada in extremely derogatory terms in Apr 19, during the course of electioneering) need to be sent for a ‘high jump’ as it is referred to colloquially.The strongest possible action needs to be initiated to set an example. Anapology being accepted by the House would be a travesty of justice.