Being Neither Here nor There is Unacceptable
📌Democracy has always been a two-legged structure that has survived the 'fury' of the Fuhrer, the 'hell' out of the Holocaust and now, ironically despite this long drawn pandemic, democracy is very much 'alive and kicking', so to speak.
What continues to ensure that it is the best way forward for us all is its two-legged structure that insists that we, you, have to either be here or there, nothing and no one in between.
What happens if and when you are neither here nor there? You get disconnected. You get off-tracked. You lose traction. Why? It's because being 'middle of the road' leads you to nowhere. To quote Kavesan Reddy: 'In life, we are neither here nor there. Life is made up of three things, truth, fact and opinion. It is up to us to decide right from wrong and what to believe'. Looking back into our lives especially the past eight months we are pushed back by this pandemic, we should realize that you can never be within the line, within the margins, within the precipice. Gotta make up your mind, dude! Gotta to take risk. You can end up on the wrong side but having taken that decision, you stand on your principles, your courage, your sanity. You don't want to be compared to that headless chicken running from one end and over to the other end.
Bertrand Russell, the respected British Philosopher deftly said: 'When envy is inevitable, it should be used as a stimulus'. How did envy get into the picture? Admittedly, I am seething with envy as Americans went to the polls today. Whether the voter is for GOP or the Democrats, America is the very testament that you gotta be here or there. In America's political landscape, you can't be an independent politico who'll eat his cake too. You gotta seriously consider either the GOP or the Democrats because these are the very democratic institutions that have endured centuries of American politics. And never have they been dented. The farthest independent politicos have gone was in the 1990s when American billionaire magnate Ross Perot pushed for his candidacy. How far did he go? He went as far as gaining 5% of the votes. After his debacles, being an independent has further entrench the stigma of being an independent in the midst of America's very robust two-party system.
This is where I truly admire Americans because you can't find fence-sitters across the continent. It's either the GOP or the Democrats. Translated into our daily lives, this is a stoic reflection of one's steadfastness. At your workplace, you can't be a fence-sitter. You stand for what is right, ethical and compliant. Where you dissent, articulate it transparently. Never keep it to yourself. In your homes, you gotta take a stand on any issue. If it means taking sides with your spouse/partner or your relatives, so be it. Courage is a double-edged sword. It is what it takes to stand up for what you believe. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen, acquiescing to what is right or even leaning towards what is right. Fence-sitters, get pumped up with that adrenaline rush for you to jump off away from that rickety fence. 📌
