No Corruption? Sure, As Long As It Doesn't Cause Me Trouble

Ah, a corruption-free country. Such a fantasy all of us love, yes? We tweet, we post, and we often talk about how corruption will bring about all the problems. So we want to change, and be fair, and have a place with justice, not forgetting the one where rules are followed, where it works well. The thing is that most of us merely pretend: we love such an idea of a country free from corruption only if it doesn't tread on our own convenience.

Imagine this: you are rushing to work one day when suddenly a red light catches your eye. Instead of stopping, your inner lawyer is saying, "This time. It is all right." So you keep moving. Well, there happens to be a traffic cop who spots you. Then you get to decide how you want to handle this. You could take the ticket, accept what you did wrong, and choose to do right. But no, that's dull. Instead, you hand some money to the policeman and off you go: voilà, problem vanished. You drive away pleased that you acted so cleverly. Later you will have the chance to bemoan, to anyone who wants to listen, the corruption of the system, as if you forgot how you played along with its hands.

Then there is the gold dream: the government job. A prize so yearned that people will go to extremes for it. And by "extremes," I mean to pay off the right people or make special deals. Who is to judge? The system, of course, is unfair, right? Get the job and sit there comfortably at your desk, while quietly basking in benefits and feeling proud of yourselves. But when you hear that someone else got a job the same way, you suddenly feel that it is wrong. "It's not fair!" you shout, without any sign of being joking. Is this hypocrisy? Yes, definitely. But you think it's okay because you are special. Or so you convince yourself.

And when do you finally get there? That is where the game gets real power. After you win your position, rules then become suggestions rather than having to be followed. They begin to break them just as a game would turn out harmless. But they become the biggest critics the moment someone else breaks one. "How can he/she misuse their position in that way?" you shout as though you haven't done anything at all. The nerve of some people, right?

That's ironic: bitter. Part and parcel of this mess we still find ourselves critical towards others. Politicians? Corrupt. Police? Corrupt. System? Broken. We post complaint status, memes about hates to corruption, hashtags we are so frustrated in seeing this, and meanwhile we perpetuate the habit. And when we have already reached the time of creating changes, we go running out of the place, Honest to goodness, whining about the other person is so much easier compared with the honest look upon oneself.

Here's the blunt truth: We can't demand a corruption-free country if we continue to support it. Every bribe, every easy way out, every dishonest deal—it all counts. And still, we are so quick to raise our hands and say, "Why doesn't anything get better?" Here's a hint: nothing gets better because we don't make changes.

Do you ever remember when you feel like blaming "the system"? Well, next time, remind yourself that you are part of it. Real change is found in choosing the difficult path over the easy path. But if we continue in what is easy, then we are not contributing toward fixing things. We're creating the problem.

Thanks for reading! If this meant something to you, or even if it did not, I would really like to know what you think. Leave a comment or share your story with me on social media. Don't forget to like, follow, and share! Let's keep talking.