Corruption versus Democracy: You are Pokemon Go

Corruption: If what’s happening in America cannot convince you that we should have a pact, nothing will.

Democracy: One bad election candidate and the world should lose faith in me? Don’t you think that is a little too convenient?

Corruption: For starters, there is a lot more than one bad election candidates. But this issue isn’t just about bad election candidates. America, your supposedly most famous representative, is screwing it up pretty badly.

Democracy: The idea is rebuilding after screwing it up. That’s the whole point. Democracy is about starting anew without tanks or guns no matter how your rulers disappoint you.

Corruption: I’m all for that, but nobody’s saying anything about all the big lies. If your system allows blatant lies to be told or tolerate the fact that the voters are being shamelessly lied to, how is it different from others?

Democracy: I’m not sure where you are coming from.

Corruption: Look at Donald Trump. The Democrats are not saying that he would be a bad president; they are saying that he would be an evil president, one who could start a new world war. Now, there are only two possibilities concerning that: either the Democrats are telling the truth or they are lying. It’s utterly bad either way.

Democracy: How?

Corruption: If the Democrats are telling the truth, how the hell did America allow an evil man to be within striking distance of the presidency? Shouldn’t men like Trump be nowhere near the Republican nomination? If the Democrats are lying, how the hell did America come to the point where such character assassination of an innocent man is acceptable? Simply because he wants to help his nation?

Democracy: That America is the world’s foremost democracy doesn’t mean the country’s system is flawless. Democracy needs nurturing. Trial and error is common, but they are welcome as long as the people are allowed to participate in them.

Corruption: Once every four years? Give me a break. You are an illusion, a Pokemon Go. People think they have something that doesn’t even exist. I hate to repeat this, but I’m a lot more real than you. At best, you are my outgrowth, a dark entity trying to romanticise itself.

Democracy: You ignore the possibility that it can be the other way round, too. You may be my outgrowth, an imperfection in my system getting too ambitious.

Corruption: Either way, we are part of the same being. Come on. Don’t pretend to be something you aren’t. Like they say, why try and be fake when being real takes less effort? Shouldn’t we have a pact now and rule this world together rather than fight each other?

Democracy: People kill bad offsprings or bad parents all the time. Haven’t we watched Game of Thrones?

Corruption: I have, and it also taught me how easy it is for people to be lied to, by the ones they trust the most.

Democracy: My system is the best when it comes to checking what are lies and what are not.

Corruption: Nope. Your system is the best when it comes to inventing and promoting lies. First you tell a small lie, but when the stake gets bigger, so does the lie. People cross the line every democratic election, and I’m not saying this out of sympathy for the Trump camp. I think his campaign is a big liar, too.

Democracy: Thailand is a fortnight away from a crucial constitutional referendum and you are obsessed with US politics.

Corruption: Well, since US politics is a bit obsessed with Thailand, it won’t hurt for us to return the favour.

Democracy: John Kerry won’t care what you think or say.

Corruption: Ouch! That hurts. But seriously, do you think a Pokemon Go cares what humans really think? It exists in another universe. Players who capture a Pokemon Go can feel proud, but sooner or later they will realise they have captured something without any essence or substance. Do you think John Kerry will cry in the shower or skip his steak when he learns about some unpleasant developments in the third world?

Democracy: People play Pokemon Go because it’s fun. Don’t demonise it.

Corruption: You’re missing my point. I’m only saying that Pokemon Go can be even more fun if people play it properly. Should we have a pact already?

And the Earth, Heaven and Hell continue to hold their breaths ...