of politics and children

i've never been fond of politics
i've never really kept up with all the hoohaas and haahoos
too many names to memorize, too many lies n scandals, too many 'they say's, too many things swept under the carpet, soooo many grey areas

but since i turned 21 , i realize my duty to vote in the next elections, so i have been paying attention to the on-goings in our political scene today. hoping that when the time comes, i can cast my vote confidently and wisely. insyaAllah..

but what im seeing is certainly not a pretty picture
in fact, its getting uglier by the minute!

so far, there is no one party i would gladly let rule this country.
i guess you could say im being idealistic - for wanting to have Malaysia ruled by people i can respect and look up to. some tell me its impossible to have a 'clean politician' these days. everyone plays dirty. some throw dirt at others. and instead of just smiling, dusting away the dirt and forgiving the person for their ignorance, they throw some dirt back. its a never-ending vicious cycle of backlashing and name-calling. in the end, everyone has a smudge or two on them. its like a freaking kindergarten yard where the kids are out of control.
so what? because of that, we're suppose to settle for these kind of leaders? just because we think it's impossible to have one who has dignity and respect for others, we settle for someone who lies and cheats 'once in awhile' ? as long as he does his job??
just to clarify, i know there are some leaders who are not at all as what i described. (at least i hope so) they are the rare ones in our country today. its just sad, thats all. they are the minority.

i wonder sometimes where these people come from. and why they behave the way they do.
were they not taught right from wrong when they were children? did their parents forget to tell them that this world is temporary and everything we do here will determine how we'll end up in the next world?

i worked in a kindergarten before. i used to be the one greeting the kids when they arrived. and everytime the moms drop their kids of at the gate, they'll ramble a long list of do's and dont's to their kids

share your toys
dont fight
no name calling
dont throw sand at your friends
dont jump of the swing
smile
be friendly
always help your friends
listen to the teacher
respect the teachers ....
you know the rest

children have these instilled in them. all these good values. the problem is, actions speak louder than words. and we adults,well, we dont really practice what we preach most of the time.
and these children pick up on our actions. they see us being rude to others. they see us fighting all the time. name calling. face making. they see us not respecting each other.

we dont share our food with our neighbours, and we expect our children to share their toys
we dont treat our parents right, and we expect our children to listen to and respect us
know what i mean?

i have a feeling these crazy childish politicians were not shown a good example growing up. so im not going to put the blame entirely on them. cause i think deep down, they all have the capacity to be good, loving, respectful figures. they just might not know it. cos probably no one ever told them that. that, or they do know it, and just choose to not be it. now, that calls for a tight slap or two.

so what can we do to try and save our future? we should really start with ourselves. lets start respecting each other more regardless of beliefs or gender. start being nice to our neighbours of all races n creed. lets start treating our parents the way they should be treated. in short, lets start living life the way Allah tells us too. the way our Prophet SAW showed us. they way it is described in the Quran. then maybe, insyaAllah, our future leaders can be of better behaviour than the ones we see today.

ps ~ u guys can start laughing now.