BELOVED OSHO, MOST
PEOPLE, RIGHTLY OR WRONGLY, EQUATE DEMOCRACY WITH THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE THEIR
POLITICIANS, YET YOU SEEM TO ENVISAGE A COUNTRY WHICH IS BOTH DEMOCRATIC AND
POLLUTION-FREE, BECAUSE YOU SEE POLITICIANS AS POLLUTION. HOW IS THIS
POSSIBLE?
Just the very existence of nations, countries dividing humanity into stupid
parts, is the whole game of the politician. And this I call pollution. It is
poison to humanity. That's why you don't see really authentically alive people
in the world. You are asking, "People generally understand democracy to
mean the freedom to choose politicians." Do you see the idiotic
understanding of the people? It is choosing between poisons. The bottles
contain the same poison -- on one is written "Democratic," on another
is written "Republican." Politicians have been befooling you. They
have managed the whole strategy in such a way that you never become aware what
is happening. You choose one kind of poison for five years; for those five
years you have to suffer that poison. After five years you are fed up with this
kind of poison. You change to another bottle -- Republican, Liberal,
Democratic, Communist, Socialist. They are all available in all shapes and
sizes, whatsoever suits you. But you will fall in the same ditch. Maybe there
are minor differences between poisons, but poison is poison. I do not see
democracy as the freedom to choose between the politicians.
To me, democracy means there are no longer any politicians around. You
individually choose somebody you feel is the right person; there are no
political parties. In a real democracy, political parties cannot exist; there
is no reason why they should exist. People are intelligent enough to choose on
their own. The politician need not go and convince the people, "I am the
right person and the other is wrong." And the other is also doing the
same, and the poor people in their utter confusion somehow choose somebody. I
have never voted in my life, for the simple reason that all those politicians
and political parties are basically the same. They want to exploit you, oppress
you. And it is a good strategy that after five years when you get fed up with
one party, you can choose another. People's memory is not very strong. So for
five years it is the Republican party sucking you, doing everything that is
wrong, deceiving you and the whole world. After five years, it is the
Democratic party doing the same thing behind a different label. And when for
five years the Democratic party is ruling, you get fed up with them, and you
forget completely that those Republicans had done the same before. Five years
is enough time for people to forget. And you go on moving between two parties.
There may be more parties in other countries, but basically two parties are in
a deep conspiracy against the people: "Five years we exploit them, then we
will give you five years to exploit them. And again we will come
back."
In a real democracy what is the need of political parties? The real need is .........
From the False to the Truth
Chapter #23
Chapter title: Persecution cannot do any harm to you
OshO
To read the rest of this lecture enter Osho Library on line here
|
 |
