Toilet Training and Governance

Governance is back! But what is governance? Simple, it is ‘the management of power’. How is governance practised? Easy; through the practice of politics which is the use of force, in its many guises, to coerce others.

Despots use the physical to subdue; democrats operate within a legal framework that (in theory) limits abuse. The present crisis, its threat to political position and the rising tide of dissatisfaction, is causing a shift towards despotism as failed leaders hide behind the facade of ‘global bargains’ to legitimise their ever increasing abuses of power. What was ‘the good times’, fuelled by increasing personal wealth, seeming infallibility and the induced materialistic apathy of the middle classes, have collapsed into the disillusioned, unemployed and frightened. Yes, governance has to be rehabilitated quickly. Seemingly good intent based on the faulty premise that growth can continue forever. Motive good; outcome bad; unintended consequences.To explain this better I like the tale of the marital toilet seat; it encompasses policy, governance, politics, good intent but often leads to bad outcomes. Fun, but some will say facetious! Maybe. But then the union of man and woman in matrimony has all the elements.The basic problem is ‘do you leave the seat up or down after using the toilet’; a seemingly innocuous problem. A situation possibly more critical in cold climes where this ‘Anglo-Saxon with brown eyes’ originated. The female of the species prefers it left down (cold bottoms); the male, generally wants it up (less work). The power play is that the female exercises governance to get her way through initially insisting that the male leaves the seat down; the male, calculates that he is the only one who has to move the seat and rebels on the basis of inequality. He can only be wrong; she can never be wrong.A basis for conflict and the use of coercive political power. Mental torture begins, she nags; he gets fed up always being wrong. They call a summit!The man suggests that a compromise would be that after each use of the toilet they would both reposition the seat; a situation that would mean an equal division of labour and in line with all the sexual equality stuff around! The little woman wants to retain her positional power of always being right! A joint communiqué is issued with a commitment to maintain the status quo while evidence is gathered. I shall not prolong this agony as most marriages experience similar situations that escalate into new and even more divisive territory! And often towards division, acrimony and alimony.A situation symptomatic of modern society where policies and concepts, in this case sexual equality, based on good intent, result in the division of families and communities. Why? Equality is interpreted that the sexes are equal and the same. They are not; marriage has worked as ‘the whole is greater than the sum of the parts’. Marriage is based upon the empirical understanding that the man is visibly in charge but the woman has the real power; workable compromise.The impact of ‘the gender affairs industry’ in codifying this relationship now results in what were family squabbles ending up in the Courts and disaster.To use the recent Zuma judgement in RSA, the law, as used is an ‘abuse of process’ and constitutes a ‘collateral and extraneous purpose’ with intent outside the law.No wonder men feel demonised; no wonder toilet seats become a cause of societal failure. Is legal process sucking society down the toilet? Lets have good governance!csmith@mweb.com.na