We – the humans, who are made of soil and would return to it, have learnt to live in violence, conflicts and wars, and the instability and chaos have now found our address. Therefore, now it is really important for us to come out of our houses and let the killers and the ones who are being killed know this tragic fact that life treats both the killers and the victims like a step-mother; it blesses someone with soft and comfortable bed while does not bless someone else even with proper cloths to wear, but the death sees everyone with the same eyes, treats everyone equally, hugs everyone in similar fashion and drags everyone to the grave in the same way.
For those who walk proudly on earth a lump of soil from any ground, any field or farm in the light of their hearts and minds would depict that it contains the remains of our forefathers who belonged to ancient times – thousands of years ago. It would contain some pieces of the proud and straight head of an arrogant ruler, a broken peace of the heart of a person who was hit by grief and agony, or may be some pieces of the fingers of a murderer. Some parts of it may also hold the fragrance of a virtuous and righteous person and others may hold the stink of the egotistical leaders.
The important question at this stance is, “What is the purpose of this lump of soil with the remains of the days and the people that have passed?” “What does it teach?”
This lump of soil should be presented to our leaders and it should be shown to them how the suffering people led their lives and how they went through the tyrannies and various cruelties, which were basically made their fate because of the tyrannical and self-centered policies of the rulers. It should be shown to them how the complete obedience of the masses and their support made the rulers achieve grandeur and write their names in the annals of history. How they were able to establish their great kingdoms on the shoulders of the soldiers, workers and laborers and they never realized those favors. Every time they were dodged, utilized and deceived by the rulers so as to achieve the objectives and interests that were totally alien to the common people.
The same is happening today – promises are being made and the people are shown the ways to heaven and peace. However, none of the promises by the leaders are turned into realities. The so-called democratic processes are used to gather the favor of the people and get their votes but their destinies are not altered and they remain pitiful and deprived.
Today again the stage has been set for elections and the leaders once again seem busy in their campaigns and activities. Once again, people are being shown the dreams of peace and justice. They are being promised that they would be given their basic rights and their society would enjoy corruption free and honest rule. All the promising and beautiful words, all the mesmerizing dreams, have been shown to the common people several times; they have been told that they would enjoy the streams of milk and honey and that their self-respect would return. And, the common people, like the previous times, are ready to believe them and hope that they would not be disheartened this time. Nevertheless, they need to wake up and start living in reality. The dreams are dreams and they can only become reality when there is determination and honest intentions. But, the history has shown that all these two factors are lacking among our rulers.
The common masses must be vigilant and must have a vigorous participation in the affairs of the country. They must not be dumb, deaf and imbecile subjects as in that way their rights would be easily violated. There are many evidences in history that show that the rulers are basically the people who gain authority in order to defend their own interests. They are not always interested in what the common masses need and get; rather their attentions are preoccupied by their economic benefits. So, the masses must be vigilant to identify the policies of the government that are not intended to fetch prosperity for them. They have the right to fight for their rights politically and must make sure that their rights are not violated in any way. In that manner they would be able to stop the rulers from using the authority only for their personal benefits. As Maya Angelou suggested, “Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and dreams and identities to the 'leaders' must take back our rights, our identities, our responsibilities”.
At the same time, masses must also develop political consciousness so as to understand the developments and the changes in the political system. Through such awareness they would also be able to measure the policies of the government as per the political demands. In addition, they would add the aptitude of strengthening the political institutions and augment the political culture with democratic and constructive essentials. In unison, they would be able to exert for positive political changes through their voting power, the propensity to change, participation in political affairs and, at most, through democratic demonstrations and protests.
Unfortunately, the common masses in Afghanistan have not been able to gain the attentions they deserve. They still lack rudimentary requirements of life and suffer from lack of awareness and consciousness. Therefore, their roles are very restricted in Afghan society and mostly the rulers rule the country as per their interests. Even if the rulers have the policies that are harmful for Afghan people and Afghan society and are clashing with the wellbeing of the masses, they do not face much resistance as the masses are not capable of identifying them and they never insist on the changes through political means.