Emerald Isle in peril : 60 years on

A retreat to simplicity and idyllic island paradise , a place where wonders abound and where kicking back and relaxing is an way of life. This was what our country was and should have been , as we sit at the eve of the dawning of our 60th year of independence and look back can any of us say that we have fulfilled the expectation of our founding fathers who sacrificed so much so that we can could fly our lankan lion high in the sky ?
There was a time when other nations looked to us an example of development and forward thinking , now the heralded shepherd of Asia has become one of the very misguided sheep . A sheep that is so far from the fold that it is slowly and certainly wondering towards the precipice of doom. Some would call me over dramatic and say no there is plenty too be proud off and that everything is not that bad and we should think of the whole context and all that drivel .. to those naysayer i have just one word "NUTZ".
Ok fine the world economy is declining and most nations are growing through bad patch. I'm not going to talk about economics today instead consider the social context we live in.
Thuggery , extortion , corruption and blatant greed runs rampant and unchecked through out the land, in fact one of the great pillars of our country that our fore father gave their lives to form , the parliment is a perfect example of this. Our great and glorious ministers stand and bow before a flag at a parade and then act like common street hooligans in parliament the highest institution in the country, do they think that our country's freedom fighters who wet the earth with their blood would want cretin like them paying homage to them???. From their behavior both within and outside parliament the honorable ministers should are not fit to run let alone stand in on the stage erected by those who really believed in the betterment of sri lanka all those years ago. ranting on about the misguided nature of governance in our island would probably mean I would never finish the is post before I die(more on that later). The governing body aside what off the people who live here have they honored the memory of our forefathers properly and by honour I do not mean hang a flag outside your house every 4th of Feb. DO we value the independence we have do we even understand the cost off it, I think not. If any of the those heroes who thought of independence were walk in to our time, I would put my money on them being disappointed, they risked life and limb to fight for this freedom and now the common folk do not even life one finger to protect it or honor it, how many of the masses who claim to "proud to be sri lankan" try to put a stop to the corruption that has taken hold , How many have stood up and said if 60 years ago a handful of scholars and warriors could stand up to the British raj I too will stand up to those who would usurp and destroy my sovereign nation which I hold dear.
The rot that has set in is affecting everything . society and large is corrupt not only in a monetary sense but also in terms of social values and common decencies. Celebrating 60 years of independence marked by a downward turn in everything our forefathers tried to protect is ironic to say the least.
The Emerald isle is not only about the natural beauty that abounds here. the people of the country have it within each of them the ability to turn it back into its former glory, They can turn it around and make our island home meet the dreams our fore fathers had for it. If we lose the people to the rot then this Emerald will forever lose the brilliance within it.