The world is the scene of an eternal tragedy, a cycle of self-destruction from which humanity seems unable to escape. Again and again we fall into catastrophe - not because of some external calamity, but because of a fatal flaw in our own nature. Karl Marx once said in his immortal wisdom: "History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." But let us ask you: what comes after the farce? It is an endless spiral of decay - a deeper, darker catastrophe. And it is a catastrophe that we choose again and again. It's not an accident; we brought it on ourselves. We are the architects of our own demise, because we continually hand over power to the people who will destroy us.
History not only repeats itself - it reveals the one truth we refuse to learn: power is not about governing, it is about survival at any cost. And those who seize it don't learn to rule - they learn to seize it. The worst leaders are not those who cannot lead; they are those who learn how to exploit, manipulate and control the masses. In this reality, we don't elect leaders to heal and guide us - we elect predators who prey on our fear and ignorance.
The demagogue is the real face of this tragedy. Through their cunning use of propaganda and their art of cultivating hatred, they offer not solutions, but domination. They do not seek to unite. They seek to divide. With surgical precision, they spread disinformation, twist the truth into lies and sow the seeds of contempt against anyone who dares to challenge their narrative. They don't just want your vote - they want your soul, your loyalty, your blind submission. Tragedy? We give it to them.
Compare this to a society that is not governed by wisdom or competence, but by opportunism - where the most dangerous leaders are those who manipulate people's fears and emotions, not their reason. They are those who understand that power lies not in delivering on promises, but in creating crises so that the masses will beg for a savior to solve the very problems the leaders themselves have created. They do not create societies. They shatter them and leave a trail of chaos and despair in their wake. And what is most disturbing? We fall for it every time.
This is not an anomaly. Take Sri Lanka, for example, where citizens elect leaders they believe will change their destiny, only to find themselves betrayed by the same rotten structures they hoped to escape. In theory, democracy is supposed to be the people's insurance against tyranny - but in practice it is a cruel joke. It does not return power to the people, but consolidates it in the hands of a few corrupt people. "Don't even think of corrupting me, but listen, if you want, you can 'contribute' to our party. You know, that's the very reason I urge my comrades to wear shirts with two pockets - one for me, one for the party," they will whisper softly. Having seized power, these politicians are not building the future they promised. They are building empires, a few cages with their inner circles. They wear masks to deceive you: "Oh, my Messiah, take your time, guide us towards the 'promised land'". In reality, they are using the very systems that are supposed to protect the public to further their own agenda, and by the time people realise what has happened, it is too late. Power is no longer about serving the people - it is about owning them.
And here's the grim reality: it's by design. Chaos, manipulation, degradation of the masses - it's all part of the plan. Politicians who come to power through deceit, division and fear don't want to fix anything. They want to control everything. They know that a society in turmoil is a society they can shape, a society that will follow them out of desperation. People who want change are not looking for solutions - they are looking for someone to give them hope, even if that hope is built on a foundation of lies. Politicians are dealers and people are addicts.
We see this pattern over and over again, yet we never seem to learn. Take Sri Lanka, where the citizens elect a leader who promises to end their suffering, only to be crushed under the weight of lies, cynical propaganda, manipulation of public opinion and betrayal. But this is not an isolated case - it is the rule. Democracy, instead of empowering people, often ensnares them even more. We vote on the basis of promises, not performance. And when those promises are inevitably broken, we blame the system, the media, anyone but ourselves. But the problem is not the system. The problem is that we keep enabling it. We enable it.
And perhaps the most disturbing part of this tragedy is how we expect failure. We know that our leaders will deceive us. We know they will fail us. Yet year after year we return to the polls to vote for the same empty promises. The second man to set foot on the moon? Irrelevant. We no longer care about substance. All we care about is who "wins" the spectacle. And that is the essence of our collective failure. Second place doesn't matter. The failure of governance doesn't matter. What matters is who gets the recognition - and the more vocal the leader, the more charismatic, the more divisive, the more distinguished, the more likely they are to succeed. We are no longer interested in the health of society, we are interested in domination.
Democracy is not a panacea. It is a tool and like any tool it can be used for good or for bad. But democracy without self-awareness is nothing but a fantasy. We vote according to who is the loudest, the boldest, the funniest - not the wisest, not the most competent. And when the inevitable collapse occurs - and it will, again and again - we blame the system, the opposition, the media, but never ourselves. We never ask the critical question: How could we have allowed this to happen again?
slguardian.org / gnews.cz-jav