Dump it on the System

I was watching the news the other day. It was just after yet another scam was exposed (I think it was about the petrol mafia, or that crazy IAS couple, not sure. I’m sorry, but it’s kinda hard to keep track you know!) and Rahul Gandhi (lol) was quoted saying that the problem was with ‘the system’ and unless we changed it, there would be no end to corruption.

And that got me thinking. What is this mysterious ‘system’ that we keep complaining about? So-and-so siphoned off crores of rupees? Blame the system. A minister’s son got away with murder? It’s ’cause of the system. A bureaucrat was set on fire in broad daylight? Arre baba what can WE do? They system is only like that. Didn’t get that promotion you wanted or got transferred? Yes, that’s right, don’t be shy now, blame it on the system.

So what is this incorrigible System that seems to lie at the root of all evil and not-so-evil predicaments that plague our people? Is it a monolith, like one extra large, extra cheesy System with all possible toppings piled on top of its gigantic self? Or are there many different Systems that come in the same menu? Like a Justice System, an Education System and so on and so forth? Or is it not a System at all, but a sort of Anti-System- just a chaotic, uncontrollable, dark, dystopian mass of Satan’s blood or that black viscous goo from Spiderman 3? Or is it something those Pakistanis planted to destroy India?

It seems to me that we all forget that ‘the System’ is our construction. As much as we would like to disentangle ourselves from it and alienate it from our lives, we are a part of it. It is not a CIA (yes, even today CIA agent = anti-Indian) or Lashkar-e-Toiba or the opposition party’s conspiracy to ruin our precious motherland. If we find ourselves in a mess today, it’s because somewhere down the line, we were irresponsible too. It’s high time we stopped blaming everything on ‘the System’ and start taking some responsibility for our actions (or lack thereof) as citizens of a democracy. The System is not a gigantic laundry basket in which we can dump all our dirty unwashed linen only to never see it again. The system is made of people. These people siphon and let other people siphon off money. These people let the judiciary be abused and exploited. And hence, we have to start holding these people accountable, instead of making a scapegoat out of a vague and generalized ‘system’.

Now, I don’t suggest that the System must never be blamed. Yes, there are many problems with our ‘system’- our laws, our judicial and executive setup and most definitely with our bureaucracy and education, among so many others. And by no means should we give up on amending this imperfect system. But does that mean we take the liberty to drain all the intent and premeditation out of human actions and make helpless victims out of the culpable? No system is perfect and foolproof, and loopholes are made even there where none existed before. It is man who makes the system and man who nibbles fine holes through its delicate texture. So Mr. Rahul Gandhi, let’s not give the ‘system’ excuse the next time something goes wrong.