Buddha for power

Or is it vice-versa? I forget.

So Sri Lankan - and perhaps the world - has its first Mayor Monk. Not only did he run for power, but when he was elected he held a temper tantrum fast because The Beast said he couldn't be mayor because he was - you know - a monk. One of those people who have stepped away from lay life for a life of seeking enlightenment.

Monks joining the monkeys in parliament is nothing new. We have had them since 2004. They even got into fights in parliament.

But talking about that is another blog post.

I'm here to talk about Wewelduwe Gnanaprabha who screamed, and shouted, and stamped his feet, and held his breath refused to eat until he was given the position of Mayor of Embilipitiya.

You see.. this is a Good Thing™.

"But wait!" I hear you yell.

"What about your 'separation of church and state' stance? Does this mean that you have 'evolved on it?"

Nay, True Believer. YT has not changed at all (in fact YT is still wearing the same shorts from a week ago).

You see, the reason why The Beast - in a fit of sanity? or just because even a broken clock can be correct twice a day? - initially refused Gnana (not the be confused with Nana, the purveyor of spicy meaty goodness at Galle Face Green) the post of Mayor is because as Mayor, he would have to approve of things that are (nominally at least) antithetical to Buddhism.

Things like Liquor Licences. Meat Licences. Gambling Licences. You know.. the good things in life. (although we're still waiting for the whoring licence)

Now the thing is, people love their vices. And Embilipitiya is no exception. Moonshine, venison, and - YT is told - some of the best local ganja comes from the area.

So there are three paths that this situation can take.

1. Stop issuing meat, liquor, and gambling licences

   This would make him MIGHTY popular with the people.

   Of course there will be people who benefit from this. Frozen meats don't need a licence, so your Food City, Keels Super, and regular shop owner don't need to worry. But considering that meat shops sell fresher meat for half the price, the consumer definitely will.

   And then there is alcohol. Make alcohol illegal and you create a thriving kasippu (moonshine) industry. And considering that moonshine was ostensibly made illegal because of the chance that improper distillation would lead to methanol poisoning (the fact that they were not paying heavy extortions to the government had nothing to do with it. Nope. Nothing at all) the people who would suffer would be the Common Man™.

   And of course the gambling ban will not affect the sale of lottery tickets at all. After all, if the Government does - nay promotes it, it's not gambling is it?

   So IF Gnana decides that he is not going to sign any of those horrible things that undermine the virtuous nation, then when the next election rolls along, there would be a massive influx of money the candidate - any candidate - that promises, even in private, to bring back the licensing.

   And because people love their morality at arm's length, the eating, drinking, gambling people of Embilipitiya would vote for them.

2. Let his secretary sign them

   "I wash my hands of it," said Pontius Pilate.

   Gnana may not be able/willing to sign the licences, but he could always tell his secretary to sign them.

   But that would lead to other problems. First off, can the Secretary sign them? Is it even legal? Secondly, since these licences are the most lucrative income generators for whoever signs them, the Secretary is going to become rich. Very rich. And rich means powerful. And also means possibly able to stand for candidate at the next election. See above.

3. Sign the damned things

   The simplest thing. And yet one that would get him flack from every direction. The people in his electorate would not be happy that he reneged on his holy vows for politics. They would not be happy that he got off the "morality" soapbox that he came to power on. And when the next election happens, this would be the first thing brought out against him.

Religion and morality in politics is a strange thing. It only works in the abstract.

Any politician who promises to make a moral law legal will be voted into power. As long as that law is not enforced too strictly. Bring in Prohibition, but don't look too hard at what is being sold under the counter. Make abortions illegal, but don't look too hard at that clinic.

Morality works best when it applies to your neighbour, not to you.

So the JHU is approved of when it gets into Parliament and screams and shouts and passes laws that affect no one directly. But when a robe-wearer gets into the local government and then starts messing with people directly, then there will be a problem.

What I hope will happen is that the people will get tired of this robe-wearer in particular and of robe-wearers in politics in general and refuse to vote them back in. That there will be a societal backlash against all this, and the creation of a SinBud Taliban will be forestalled.

What is more likely is that there will be more and more busy-bodies pushing robe-wearers into power because, it is their moral imperative to stop you doing what you want.H. L. Mencken defined puritanism as the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having a good time. And we DO have a large number or Puritans in Sri Lanka (starting with The Beast himself) who want to stop other people from having fun, as long as THEY can do it.

And We The People will just sit with our thumbs up our collective asses, and do nothing about it.

That's what we always do.