The Man in the mirror - revisited

I'm gonna make a change, for once in my life
It's gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right...

As I, turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin' my mind
I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat
Who am I, to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs
A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They follow each other on the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
That there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me, pretending that they're not alone?

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream
They follow the pattern of the wind, ya' see
Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me

I tend to disagree with the majority on the oldest profession, it definitely has to be politics. Oh how indefatigable corruption is! Especially when it comes to politics : they could be liberal or conservative, left wing or right wing, communist or capitalist, democratic or autocratic but the only common denominator they have is corruption. If indeed there is something called the "most institutionalized" in the world, it is corruption.

This article just goes on to prove that the whole world speaks one language when it comes to corruption, they might have different accents but it is definitely the same language. Be it the only remaining superpower in the world or country like Eritrea where most people can't afford one square meal a day.

I agree that this topic has been taken through the cleaners and juiced to the maximum. Though the one aspect of it that has not been taken note of are the ordinary people like us who condone it, by doing nothing about it. Most people don't care or are part of the malice by using it. I know it takes a lot to take a stand, but stand we must take. Anybody who cannot stand for something that he believes will for anything. Rhetoric apart, I believe individual corruption is more dangerous than any disease know to man.

Its easy to take pot shots(specially people like me) at all those high flying people who get caught.
What's harder is to keep the focus at the root of the problem. Sometime back I had a discussion with a friend on the best way to tackle this issue. (Like everybody else I believe I can solve all the worlds problem!!) He was of the opinion that the people at the top have to change first for the world to get rid of corruption. By that he meant that the political and business class have to change before the bourgeois can change and he was going to do things by hook or by crook till the world changes.

I on the other hand am of the opinion that the middle class is the key to the issue. If you are not corrupt when you are at the bottom of the food chain there is a good chance you would remain the same at the top ... that or you would never get to the top! But like Mother Theresa "every drop of water makes the mighty ocean" its starts with each one of us. Instead of complaining at how people are making money in corruption, lets try to do things without giving that "bribe" that would make things easier.

That said, corruption scandals have become the norm of the day all over the world, either more people are getting caught or the number of incidents is just skyrocketing. The only thing that has accomplished is that people are so sick of corruption that they have become numb to it. That is the kind of attitude that is not going to help! Sprinkling of outrage once in a while keeps the world moving along without degenerating into anarchy.

Before I run out of steam just wanted to let you where I come from!

Slums may well be breeding grounds of crime, but middle-class suburbs are incubators of apathy and delirium. Cyril Connolly