SCAM!

SCAM, SCAM and more SCAM! It seems that Mr Pandora has forgotten to lock his box. All Media has dived into it and rummaging like a pack of hungry dogs. Dog like, they are standing on the mound of rubbish with their heads buried into the filth. You can only see their frantically wagging tails. Every poop has a pop. The filth has a potential of “Breaking News”. The Dog and the media have two things in common. One, they both love filth. Two, they both hunt in packs. The Channels are taking turns. They have taken sides, it seems. One tails Kalmadi, the other resides in Adarsh Housing Scam, then someone cross-connected with the 2G fiasco and now latest, comes in Yeddyurappa. Alas, very soon all this will become like Harappa.

But the phrase, Few and Far Between, does not apply to the media. Some say, there is no business like show business. Well, it’s time for amendment. Actually, there is no business like News Channels. Just get the Hardware ready, some speakers and a few sniffers, and then the rest of the software will follow. Many will walk the distance just to go on air. A Fifteen Minutes of fame or notoriety is all they want. They might not wash or do their own laundry, but they love cleaning other’s dirty linens. But in Public! The way they beat the issue would put the Dhobis of Mahalaxmi to shame.

And the media proclaims; This Scam is a Scam like no other. They said the same a decade back too. In fact, all Scams are like no other. Only the protagonists change. In this world, some things are homogeneous. They subscribe truly to democracy. They are same all over. Animals and forests might deplete but true corruption spreads without interruption. It always was and it always will be. The use of deceit to achieve one’s goals is as old as politics. If you think, it should be otherwise, you are a moron. You are one of them who cry Hi-Fi. You befriend the morals and sleep besides the filth. Even the dogs will abandon you.

OK, let us check out the word – Scam. The idea is to understand the underlying strategy. For me, this word is coined to perturb. To infuriate! Linguistically, it is always necessary to define the meaning of any word. So at first, the word, Scam is defined. It finds its place in the Oxford Dictionary. Everybody become aware of the word. They learn to make sentences or write a prose or poetry with it. Gradually, the meaning of the word becomes apparent to all. The use, the impact, the feelings of this word seeps into your psyche. After a while, you are ready. You are loaded. Then suddenly, one day, the word is used to describe a situation or a person. The Tag brings forth all the pent up emotions which you have stored towards this word. The culprit is branded in haste. And you! You rush to take the holier-than-thou position. It’s rightly said- In the beginning there was the word. It still is.

One man’s something is another man’s opposite. One man’s position is another man’s nepotism. You have power, others will call that oppression. But did you ever think why? Just check out. It’s always – One man against the other. And the world moves. You buy ten newspapers and spend double the time in front of the TV watching that garbage. You are swayed. Your high ideals suddenly join the gym. and start pumping iron. You sermonize by oscillating from Tweedledum to Tweedledee and then back again. You did the Brownian motion and someone else scored the brownie points. Stupidus should be our new God.

The political class changes position but sups from the same utensil. Despite all you might think, there is complete unity at the top. You get rejuvenated by any change. You think all the good will begin immediately. You start singing “Winds of Change”. Again, watch the words – Hope, Change. Remember what you are taught or what’s in Oxford. You are again running behind a tag. We are all waiting for the day to realise that – A move do not a change make. But for now, we all get satisfied by Resignations. We heave a sigh of relief. It’s not that someone left his position. It’s because we have got bored with the scoop. We want the music to change. We want the channels to beat a different drum. Change-Locked and House-ridden, we all want relief from humdrum. Well, Quadriplegia, does not necessarily affect the body. We should Cross-check our thoughts too.

I was just trying to think of some acronym of SCAM. Many ideas flew across me. The one which stuck is this: SCAM = Standards Continued Across Millennium. There can be many more. I have chosen this to make a point. By now it’s abundantly clear. The World is not fair. Nature abhors a perfect design. If something cannot be tilted it cannot be manoeuvred. So a Scam is actually not a Scam. It’s an opportunity perceived and gainfully utilised. Every politician has to play this game. If you want to sit on the high-chair, you have to show what you can get on the table for others. If you are at a position where you cannot dole out or dole in then that situation or position is very depressing. If you don’t agree, try it yourself. Stand for an election drinking King-Morals and I shall check out who-the-hell shows up. Test it yourself. If you wear a badge of high position and can’t offer a favour, few offices will entertain you.

There is not much fun in the group of saints. On the contrary, it’s dangerous. The holier they appear the longer the dagger they hide. Honesty has its limits. Time and experience will show that there are many who will exercise Big Honesty for couple of bucks or on small things or matters. Start raising the stakes, keep adding in the dough and there will be a point where he will start weakening. You can notice the false staunchness giving way to submissiveness. And then comes the big reason and justifications. That’s a Breaking Point. Once that threshold is breached, gravity is no longer a constraint. Then it’s free flight. Honesty evaporates from gaseous to no state.

In reality, there are no Scams. There are only favourable circumstances with a very short window of opportunity. A Scam is actually like a ringing of a school bell announcing that your time is over. You and your ilk had had your fill. Now it’s someone Else’s turn. But it’s hard to let go. It’s a prize for which many pay the price. Getting Proximity to an elixir is not easy. A Scam is a shake-up ushering in new people and new ideas for the next step. A scam is like a crocodile, suddenly appearing from the depths of the river and creating a stampede among the thirsty beasts. Some gets eaten, some gets trampled and some run away. But then a new group forms and again organizes around the water body. And Scam, life and show must go on……