LEGISLATORS
The briefest definition of
a legislator is : a member of a group of people that has the power to make laws.
A bit longer definition says: A person who has
the power to write, change, and pass laws. This person is typically a member of
a law-making group, such as a parliament, congress, or city council.
Monarchy is one man’s
rule, so is dictatorship. It is democracy which has as many elected legislators
as it needs to make all sorts of new laws and amend old ones.
An ideal democracy makes
appropriate laws to protect the rights of all the communities. It is known liberal democracy. It fulfills the
expectations all the citizens irrespective of their religion.
A secular democracy is
non-religious. It is humanistic. In its eyes all the religions have the same
freedom as that of a ruling party.
The qualities of a good legislator
comprise : analytical skill with high ethical standards. He listens to the
public, understands their expectations, solves their problems, makes their
lives optimally comfortable; is unselfish,
non-greedy, does not work for self-elevation, has the least interest in making
himself wealthy; is non-communal, non-sectarian; men and women for him are the
children of the same God. To put it briefly, he is a public servant, not their
master.
He has no ego. His chief
aim is the maximum happiness of the maximum number of people.
According to a popular
view: That state is best ordered where the wicked have no command, and the good
have.
There is a substantial
difference between an average legislator and a statesman.
An American clergy
William R. Alger (1822-1905) says: True statesmanship is the art of changing a nation from what it is into what it ought to
be.
The English poet
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) said: A genuine
statesman is a friend to truth ! of soul
sincere, in action faithful, and in honour clear; he breaks no promise, serves no private end, gains
no title, loses no friend; is ennobled by himself; and is approved, praised,
and honoured by all.
*******
G.R. Kanwal
24 August 2026
No comments:
Post a Comment