DailyPost 429
MY WAY OR HIGH WAY
A refrain heard over and over again about obstinate persons for whom achieving the goal is inconsequential, if If does not happen their way. This got into folklore the world over, dates back to 1970s & is a predominantly an America idiom. Beneath this mindset is an unveiled ultimatum like ”take it or leave it.” Lots of us have faced this in our personal & professional life. People who practice it are either ignorant or take pride that things can done only in this manner. It’s an mindset issue coupled with issues of personal power, is practiced in professional, familial or a societal settings.
Totally antithetical to the Democratic Mindset, it a stumbling block in the functioning of democratic institutions& also its processes. Undeniably, it also there in the private sector. Most of the fiascos happen on this count. Robert Mugabe is the most recent example of the fate countries can face, if unfortunately, leader belongs to the ’My Way’ category. With all the crisis having befallen the present American Presidency, Trump still happens to be proactive practitioner of this theory.
Being in an age which is data driven, people with this disposition treat data / facts / truth with disdain. They are in their make believe world completely disconnected with reality. Discussion & deliberations they don’t being to the table. Their mindset prejudges & predecides and even when things go awry, they don’t rectify either their behavior or take any correctional measures. Riding roughshod is the name of the game.Post truth is the entangled thought process.
We have such characters everywhere & the unfortunate part is that they face little or no resistance in the beginning which emboldens them in a big way. Later, they take the shape of monster of different proportions finally ending up in fence eating the crop situation. Family, business enterprises, governance & politics worldwide is replete with examples. The skeletons tumble from their cupboards when it’s all over. Democracy has no place for such deviant psyche.
MY WAY OR HIGH WAY IS A DEAD END.
Sanjay Sahay