CORRUPTION / NEXUS

 27         CORRUPTION

‘Corruption’ has no definition though definite by its presence in every conceivable place and activity. In our country, it has entrenched itself deep to resurge like the proverbial Phoenix, after every attempt to crush it. Obviously, the human network behind this malady is vast, self protective, insulated and blessed from above [though not by the Divinity!]. Greed for the fast buck is the driving force. The sweep of greed is powerful to demolish any faith on Natural justice and equanimity. This is evident from the way a corrupt official fleeces the applicant for everything that [s]he is duty-bound to provide. The problem has reached a stage where most things do not work without bribe, making us wonder as to why the workers are paid.   Despite the ‘checks and balances’, the practice of corruption goes on without check. Often the enforcement agencies meant to curb the practice are themselves involved in the offence.

We are at a loss to identify an appropriate corrective that can put an end to the menace. My calling it a menace is to indicate the ever-expanding scale and dimension of corrupt practices. Ironically, people are hypocrites; they are averse to corruption when it is their turn to pay, but shameless in asking for and accepting bribe to discharge their work! Thus, our society is guilty of double speaking, taking different postures while ‘giving’ or ‘taking’ bribe. Two complements are identifiable. 1. Greed to build ‘wealth’, 2. the assurance of safety that ‘I am not alone’ and that by corrupting ‘I too can escape’. In short, shameless greed dominates to suppress conscience which ‘on and off’ reminds the person of impropriety. Perhaps a feeling of sin is conspicuous by absence.

                                                    28      NEXUS                                                  

One can recognize the deep rooted nexus that holds people together in work places. The nexus being referred to here is a natural alliance between incompetence, insecurity and sycophancy. The order in which the items figure in the list is logical though it may not be the same in all cases. Under dispensations where accountability is an effective criterion, the incompetent sycophant looks for places of safety to which [s]he can migrate; if not [s]he chooses to be polite, submissive waiting for a moment to unleash the gimmick of sycophancy. Once the leader casts penetrative and probing look, the sycophants drop into silence and resort to a body language of affirmative nods to all words uttered and those yet to be! Certainly the upright leader enjoys the sycophants’ predicament and does not fail to reprimand the sycophants however elaborate their affirmative nods have hither to been.                         

The idea of nexus is of biological origin; alignment for survival. Divinity has instilled a sense of discretion in all biological systems independent of intellect or idiocy. Idiots are more sensitive to perceive danger than those who are intelligent. The latter believes in the strength of conviction for logical analysis to defend self. The idiot knows of his futility for words and deeds, choosing to submit to everyone around effectively nullifying the scope for specific reprimand. Thus, all idiots come together under the popular suggestion of democratic consensus.  It is a euphemistic veil for avoiding expression of views, as they do not propose anything logical.  In short, it is a form of objecting without doing so, requesting a review or amendment to liberalize the conditions of any proposal. The gravity of the nexus comes into play whenever some new stipulation that would run counter to the general comforts of the sycophants is about to come up. Such unstinted support comes forth from a sense of insecurity that most of the inept employees suffer from. Over the years, these personnel stick to ignorance instead of genuine attempts to equip selves. Staying under some banner is their lone strategy to take on ‘modifications’ of any kind. When such inept personnel manage to hold positions of authority, they dwell on delay and procrastination. Also, they try to suppress adept workers by citing irrelevant clauses in the work rules. Nexus among the inept is used to personal advantage of the employees and not for any valid team work.