74.5 Ideal Country

 74.5 Ideal Country

Question:

Is it important for a country to have a good ruler?

Answer:

Even if a country has all the blessings, it is worth nothing

if it lacks a good ruler.                                                                        (Couplet – 740)

              ஆங்கமை வெய்தியக் கண்ணும் பயமின்றே

வேந்தமை வில்லாத நாடு.                                           (குறள் – 740)

 

Explanation:

The outstanding examples to validate this kural are North Korea and Venezuela. In the case of North Korea, three generations of dictators have been totally corrupt, and they have impoverished their country with callous indifference to the citizens of the country. The land and the people of North Korea are not much different from their southern neighbor, South Korea. While South Korea has significantly improved its economy with major industrial development and its people are prosperous, North Korea has failed to do so. While millions of people are starving and dying of malnutrition each year, the dictator is proud of building inter-continental ballistic missiles and strengthening the armed forces. The primary reason for the people’s misery is the attitude and actions of the country’s leader.

 

Another example of a country suffering from a lack of good leadership is Venezuela. Venezuela is a fertile country and has the world’s largest oil reserve. The corrupt leadership and the failed socialistic ideologies of Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro are responsible for the abject poverty and anarchy in that country.

 

These two examples clearly illustrate the importance of a good ruler and the consequence of the absence of a good leader.