Legend of Lalapore

Original post by Blueheeler

Lalapore was a neat little country. It was small, but it had a good trading location. This attracted a Colonial occupant who developed its trading capacities, and brought lots of migrants to work there. After a 100 years or so, the Lalaporeans got rid of the Colonial occupier so that it could take charge of its own destiny. The beginning of this new nation was fraught with hardship. No hinterland, no natural resources, a poor, mostly uneducated population required drastic political measures to set her on the right path.
Up rose a party - the Papsmear Party - that towered over many others; one Party that was schooled in the Colonial's way but whose heart was in Lalapore. This Party was overwhelmingly endorsed in the inaugural election and its leader, Mr Leeder, became the beloved leader of a new nation. The new Leeder of the Papsmear Party and his merry men were geniuses. They got their priorities right and ensured that kids were educated for the future, that infrastructure was conducive for foreign investments, that the country was clean and green, etc.

Election after after election, the Papsmear Party gained ground. Despite the presence of opposition voices in this 'democratic' country, dissent was crushed; not by illegal means, but by efficient enforcement of anti-defamatory laws that the Papsmear Party regularly used to sue and bankrupt opposition politicians (and also foreign media), making them ineligible for future elections.

The population of Lalapore largely votes for the Papsmear Party. Some do so out of appreciation for its good work. Some do so because the opposition are not strong enough to be trusted in parliament. Yet others do not even get to vote because the opposition cannot field enough candidates. The wealth of the economy and the stability of Lalapore society have made many Lalaporeans apathetic to politics due to complacency. The Papsmear Party has done a good job, so why rock the boat, right?

But storms brew in the horizon. Leeder of the Papsmear Party, dies. After a firm grip on the Papsmear Party and Lalapore for more than 50 years, Leeder's death spurred pro-Leeder and anti-Leeder camps within the Papsmear Party to scamble for the spoils. As blows are traded, the Papsmear Party's squeaky-clean image takes a beating as Papsmear Party-members use underhanded methods to oust fellow members. Finally, in the brouhaha, a massive Scandal hits the Papsmear Party, and no spindoctoring can save them. With mounting pressure from Lalaporeans for justice to be meted out, the President dissolves Parliament and calls for fresh elections.

All Papsmear Party members immediately quit the Papsmear Party to form their own parties. But the stain from the Scandal means that their names are now not worth the price of the ballot-papers that they are printed on. The opposition, on the other hand, had a field day generating support from disgruntled Papsmear Party supporters.

On election day, the opposition wins. Lalaporeans sit in front of the live-update TV screens, in tears. Some cried for the downfall of the Papsmear Party, while others teared in happiness of the long-awaited victory of the oppostion in Lalapore. But yet others cry because the the Pillar of Lalapore - the Papsmear Party - has given way to an untested, un-united opposition who have never tasted power before.

Rolling in his grave, Leeder, the dead founder of the ex-Papsmear Party, finally sees his glowing political folly in the darkness of his crypt. In his eagerness to ensure a top-down one-party dominance in Lalapore for the sake of political and governmental efficiency, his deliberate marginalisation of the opposition had been calculated to keep them weak. A weak opposition was good for the Papsmear Party while the Party was infallible, but the collapse of the Papsmear Party exposed an ugly wound that the opposition ably exploited.

Now, Lalapore under the new government is having its first taste of 'democratic' freedom. But with the new government being untested and inexperienced - thanks to the oppressive Papsmear Party - Lalaporeans can only sit and wait to see if everything is a sweet dream or a bitter nightmare.

Moral: You reap what you sow. But with an entire country at risk, we are not simply looking at a worthless bushel of wheat going up in flames.

"If you believe in democracy, you must believe in it unconditionally. If you believe that men should be free, they should have the right of free association, of free speech, of free publication." - Lee Kuan Yew (April 27, 1955)