Any way the wind blows

“The guy who won just had to rule the roost while others laboured to take care of his needs. It was not the males who did this but the females so you did not live in fear of loosing your job in a hurry.”

(November, 30, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) There were the days when animals could express themselves, and they were just like the humans getting about having their own parliaments and rulers. The only thing amiss was a democratically elected leadership. After all these bygone eras they still don’t, but their system is much more valuable for humans learn from now.

Their system a very simple one and much cheaper. With absolutely no danger to life or limb of the citizenry because you did not require supporters to get there. If you were unable to get your way you were simply a lost case. So all one did was first bark themselves hoarse and when they got tired they used their fangs. They bit each other until one overcame the other who suffered immensely from the bites or just simply died then and there.

The guy who won just had to rule the roost while others laboured to take care of his needs. It was not the males who did this but the females so you did not live in fear of loosing your job in a hurry.

It took a while for you to be challenged because like the boxers of today to accept the challenge was left entirely to the champion. There was no hope of re-match ever. Once a looser always a looser was the accepted norm. But a newer and younger challenger always lurked around seeking opportunity. The only way you could be in trouble was if you thought of testing yourself against one of these opponents, which you had the privilege of postponing.

Old age was a thing you could not avoid, that is why the animals were not given longevity, the species had to keep going depending on a good leadership, and good leadership was strength and strength was youth.

Why can’t we humans be like that instead of putting forward as strength the number of votes, and wallowing in this morass called democracy?

We can choose between acting the way humans do or the way animals do, in choosing our leaders. The better way would be without the skullduggery we humans follow. The animals, they follow one rule, and that is to let those involved in the battle for supremacy carry on and be only a witness. What we are up to democratically serves no one any purpose, so let’s practice the other way because we are so used to the dog eat dog system anyway.

(The writer is a leading journalist based in Colombo.)