It's the World Anti-Corruption Day today. Speaking of corruption, I once read this joke somewhere:
During a trial, the prosecuting attorney attacked a witness. "Isn't it true," he asked, "that you accepted ten thousand dollars to compromise this case?"
The witness stared out the window, as though he hadn't heard the question.
"Isn't it true that you accepted ten thousand dollars to compromise this case?" the lawyer repeated. The witness still did not respond.
Finally, the judge leaned over and said, "Sir, please answer the question."
"Oh," the startled witness said, "I thought he was talking to you!"
As I finished chuckling on the joke, I was hit by the stinging realization of how the witness's reply was so reflective of my own society; my own people: that we're all in it - one way or the other - and yet always find somebody else to blame for it.
There is a reason why my land is ranked 34th on Transparency International's global corruption index; and the reason, I believe, is not the inadequate leadership or the government and the like; these are all the symptoms, the outcomes. The real reason is us; we the people; the common man; the you and the I.
We aid in spreading corruption by being indifferent, not objecting and going along with it because - and this is my favourite - so does everybody else! It is this very attitude that lends strength and power to the manipulators, hoarders, politicians, the so-called leaders, the status quo and the government. For if it is power that lets them corrupt, it is we who give them that power.
So starting today, what can we the people, the common man, the you and the I do about it? Everything, I believe. A collective effort and movement may be much complex and difficult to achieve and I'm not one who would call for it; not at the moment. I believe mass revolts and revolutions are a bit overrated and undermine the power and effectiveness of small, individual acts which, if they reach a critical mass, can be equally transformational.
One thing we could do immediately, for instance, is use that powerful, two-letter word: NO. That's right. Say no!
No to a cash offer in return for awarding that tender or contract! Or that job!
No to that traffic policeman who's caught you for running a red light.
No to giving the wrong medicine to your patients in exchange for benefits from the manufacturing company.
No to using substandard material when constructing that building.
No to the offers in exchange to forego that inspection, audit or investigation.
No to hiring an incompetent friend or a relative in place of someone who deserves that job.
No to colluding with someone at the workplace for unethical, illegal practices.
No to using office supplies for personal use.
No to that senseless price hike.
No to promoting your workplace ally instead of the one that deserves it.
No to spending from funds collected for charity.
And how about a No to the moral factors of corruption: lying, deceiving, stereotyping and the voracity of gain.
If we the people, the common man, the you and the I cannot say No in our everyday dealings and surroundings, how then are we any different from those we so bravely point a finger at?
