When clicks indeed matter

A generation that is marked by extensive fingering on electronic devices won’t spare few minutes to click a button begs several questions. One of them being: how exactly does democracy benefit from absenteeism? No, seriously. Staying at home enjoying a public holiday sounds more like idle and less like ideal. Besides, the slogan “Everybody is corrupt” has run its course. If you don’t have the diligence and enthusiasm to participate in a democracy that can at least—if not anything else—boast of staying true to electoral principles for almost seven decades now, then you are passively corrupt too. You’ve been allotted time to perform a duty which also translates into a privilege. A privilege not all countries can boast of. In Australia, it’s illegal to not vote. Their logic is simpler there: the government is allowing you a holiday so you better move your ass to the booth, mate! Yes, things are bit leaner in our country. Particularly in the urban areas where people take democracy for granted and then suffer traffic, potholes, load-shedding, diseases, devilknowswhatelse every second day. Only a sense of interest and pursuit of unbiased information can help. Calling everyone corrupt only shows apathy and corruption grows fat on such a lousy attitude. If you’re truly concerned (and you should be), you should keep a track on which political party is doing what. Humans, by nature, are more political than social. And the worst thing that can happen to a country—democratic or otherwise—is people assuming that being politically unaware are a symptom of greatness. It’s not. People who are resistant to updating themselves with current affairs cause the gravest of damage to the society. Of course, they can be excused if they genuinely feel they’ve committed too many mistakes in their lifetime to add one more to the list by pressing a button on EVM. But such self-critical souls are rare. And they usually end up at the polling centre only to weep on noticing a senior citizen on crutches in the queue.