Considering that we are caught in an inherited burden where corruption persists across generations, it can be said that there is a generational curse in our society today. Millennials who were in college in the late 1990s, nearly thirty years ago, will remember the conversations we had about corruption in government and the unchecked power of politicians. That was one generation ago.
Today, many of us have school-going children who will soon step into colleges of their own, and they too will inevitably find themselves talking about corruption in government and the ways politicians wield power. Has anything even changed?
There is little point in blaming the generation before us for the problems we now face. But the more urgent question is whether we are content to pass these same problems on to our children. That may be convenient, but what does that say about our sense of responsibility? If we call ourselves responsible human beings, we must not only worry about our present surroundings but also about the kind of society we are preparing for the next generation.
What is troubling is the growing tendency to suppress dissent. There are those who want silence, who prefer that everyone simply go along to get along. This may buy temporary calm, but in the long run it does nothing to address our problems. Someone must be willing to stand up, to speak truth even when it is uncomfortable. Without such courage, our society risks becoming permanently subservient to those in power.
The sad reality is that politics has never been about the people. It has always been about clinging to power. Decisions are not made on the basis of justice or fairness but on what is politically expedient. In this way, generations have grown up in a system that teaches compliance rather than critical engagement.
As the renowned American neurosurgeon Ben Carson said, “We have been conditioned to think that only politicians can solve our problems. But at some point, maybe we will wake up and recognize that it was the politicians who created our problems.” His words resonate with our present reality. We cannot depend on those who benefit from the system to reform it.
Change must begin with citizens who refuse to remain silent, who are unwilling to let corruption define every era. It is a moral duty to ensure that our children inherit not the same burdens we carried, but a society where integrity and accountability are possible. Only then can we free ourselves from this inherited burden.
