Remembering things at the right time is a crucial quality to have. Imagine all the cringing embarrassment you'd save yourself by actually putting names to faces at dinners or by remembering your girlfriend's birthday (that's one way to avoid stony silence). But alas, we Bangladeshis seemingly have not been blessed with good recalling powers.
How else do you explain mass amnesia? It's one thing if it was a one-off but it seems like this affliction is cyclical -- it strikes every five years. But it's more than just forgetting your child's poetry recital date, though. It's more like forgetting you had a child in the first place. Politics has been, and always will be, a touchy subject in these parts. There are those who tiptoe across the topic cautiously, those who vociferously decry every move made by the institution and, finally, those who are just there for the free handouts. But every five years, our collective memory seems to go on a vacation and we are left clueless. We are stuck between a rock and, well, another equally disappointing rock.
At first glance, this affliction would baffle any doctor. But upon further investigation, we come across the careful politics behind our amnesia. Failures mean little if you can sugarcoat them with contrived victories. A certain scandal involving a minister can be papered over with careful media exposure of said minister giving his thought-provoking views on matters of import. Of course, how can such a deep, philosophical man ever do wrong? Poof. Amnesia. And then there's the elusive Padma Bridge issue. But we don't really care about the widespread internal corruption that led to the loan being pulled. That's nothing in the face of reassuring words from a financial genius promising obscene amounts of phantom money. Poof. Amnesia.
The BDR Mutiny has long since been thrown away into a pile marked “ancient history”. New things pop up and it is only prudent that we keep ourselves up to date with the happenings of this country. Sometimes, the failures pile up so spectacularly that it is difficult to fixate on any one properly. If that is a strategy then it seems to be working well.
So where does this leave us concerned citizens at the end of the day? Just as clueless about what to do and who to vote for, five years later. You can be forgiven for wondering if it is really worth the effort to make an educated decision, but know this, the next five years depend upon your ability to make a conscious choice. For once, it's imperative we sift through the carefully manipulated propaganda and look at the facts. Chances are, our decisions will be all the better for it.

For rants, criticisms and discussion on the beautiful state of politics in this country of ours, yours truly can be found at [email protected]. Conditions apply.