The Game

In politics there is no black and white; only shades of grey. Or at least that is the message that politicians who find themselves on the wrong side of history would sheepishly tell you.

Of course there are many intractable conflicts that litter the world. “Reasonable” people argue the merits of their respective sides of the argument. Israel/Palestine, China/Taiwan, India/Pakistan, Frost/Nixon- you get the drift.

But the reason that these battles go on is more to do with the basic power dynamics. It has nothing to do with the moral superiority of one side over the other.

The balancing of competing interests dominates the international arena. However, this realpolitik is also seen within the borders of a country. Politicians jostle for position as they seek to survive or advance their careers.

This does not have to be the natural state of affairs. Principles do come into the equation. And it is often those that do not subscribe to any and just play the game for the game’s sake that get left behind.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. A great liberal tide swept aside a block of authoritarian states.

In each of these countries- in East Germany, in Poland, in Czechoslovakia, in Romania- there were those that found themselves on either side of the divide.

Some were with the communist rulers. Others were with the dissidents. Some worked to prop up the system. Others set out to smash it.

Those that dared to dream big and faced the colossal power of the state head on emerged triumphant. Those that got stuck in the revolving doors of the system were humbled.

We are a country that has gone through a similar process ourselves. It is interesting to reflect on the experience of the Soviet states and see how it relates to our own nation.

What makes one person a dissident fighting against a repressive state, and another someone who allows them self to be absorbed into the state apparatus? What makes one person Vaclav Havel and another Milous Jakes?

What makes one person Lech Walesa and another Wojciech Jaruzelski?

Think about this question in the Maldivian context. What makes one person Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) and another Mohamed Nasheed (Kutti)? Or for that matter, another Mohamed Nasheed (Kaanal)?

Everyone is playing the game. But some play for a higher purpose. And providence guides those whose hearts are true.