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4 August, 2016 00:00 00 AM
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When the bus stop comes..!

ROBERT CLEMENTS

As I watch the US elections and Donald Trump arousing the electorate with his violent and rabid speeches, I feel like shouting across the ocean, “Donny boy, hate is a dangerous vehicle to ride on!” Because once you’ve got onto the vehicle of hate, and your co-passengers get in with you, later when your bus stop comes, they won’t get off with you!  
You can galvanise voters to ride with you using hate to farther your cause, but once you come to power, using this rabid dog, and once you realise you have to administer and govern all the people, you’ll realise your followers won’t let you change vehicles.
“Hey President Trump!” they’ll shout, “You said to kick the Mexicans, the Muslims and the Minorities right? So now we are going to do so, you just tell your police not to touch us!”
“But you can’t!” whines Trump. “I need to show I am a good President!”
“Hey, are you the guy who shouted and yelled and spouted all that rhetoric?”
“Yes, but that was election time!”
“Yep, but now it’s delivering time Mr Trump! Watch us set the nation on fire!”
Hate is a dangerous vehicle, and the people who got on with you, won’t get off when you want them to!
Today as I watch our nation engulfed in anger, I see what Trump should start seeing: Hate is slowly overtaking corruption! Violence is slowly overtaking progress! A Prime Minister is trying to quell the anger, first with strict silence, then with severe admonitions, but nobody is getting off the vehicle!
You may think this phenomenon exists only in national scenes, oh no, you can see it in offices, corporate positions, anywhere! Many of us want a certain position in our offices, maybe in our religious places too, so what do we do? We build divides to get our posts. Instead of focussing on what we can offer in terms of leadership, we point how the competition belongs to a particular caste or creed. Of course we’ve already done our homework and know we have the majority of a particular group on our side. We win, spreading divide, and then as an officer or manager or head priest, when we try to lead, it doesn’t work.
You can’t change from a wolf to a lamb!
Listen to those with a gentle tongue, to those who speak the language of peace. It certainly doesn’t lend itself to huge drama like hate does, but when they who use it ultimately lead, there’s calm, there’s quiet, there’s serenity!  
Yes, Mr Trump as you and your followers ride the vehicle of hate, remember, they will not get off with you when the bus stop comes…!

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Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.

Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.

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