On National Jubilee Day, the head of the noble and worthy republic traditionally holds a speech to commemorate the founders and sketch a retrospect and future view of the nation’s political culture. Often, the heads of government also use this occasion to put themselves in line with historic leaders of the republic and display themselves as worthy heirs of their office. This is any year’s speech, but it could have been held today.
Jubilee Day
Dear citizens of our beloved and glorious republic, Seventy years have passed since our country gave itself its democratic constitution and took the first strides on the long way of history that connects the founding days and our present times. Seventy years are worth of looking back at the roots we came from and at the palace we have built.
Let me begin with the ideals the founding fathers inscribed into the foundations of our republic. Their idea was to abolish classism, religious divides and give everyone access to our society’s institutions. Maybe they had not perfectly everyone in mind, since most of them were upper class old men, but the words they wrote actually say “Everyone”, so everyone could feel entitled to believe in the vision. Dreams were unleashed. With these foundations, we set sail to the seventy years that brought us here. And while our constitution loomed in the background, wise men ruling this country cautioned against too impulsively giving in to the written commandments of our founding fathers. If we reached the ultimate goals in our constitution, equity, rule of law and social security today, where could any future path lead?
It has been the goal of most governments, and especially mine, to spare up some of the way for the generations to come. Who would want to be born into a perfect society? Is nepotism disguised as fate or godly will not a tickle that keeps us excited about the present? For this reason, we have practiced a shared meritocracy over the past decades. Meritocracy, a system that makes the most capable and the most deserving most powerful and gives the smartest minds the chance to work for the public good. And successfully, we apply this system when it coming to making the path of success narrow and thorny when it comes to climbing up the social ladder from the bottom. Our college and public service entrance tests are rigorous and we can be sure that only a very curated elite of minds walks through the doors of our noble public institutions. The dreams of our founding fathers partly become true when these men and women emerge as young leaders in the ornate of our republic’s endless endeavour for social equity. These young leaders occupy most ranks of the command chain and make this country a better place. But again, ‘a better place’ should be handled with caution. It is my strongest conviction that the journey we began in our founding days must not be completed in our lifetime.
Therefore, most elder statesmen, proudly including myself, have tenderly caressed our shared meritocracy and reserved the top rungs of the social ladder for the exact opposite of the young masterminds who fight so enjoyably hard for entry into our government’s marble halls. As ministers, broadcasters, overall leaders with a significant impact, nobody with an earnest pursuit of our constitution’s goals is suitable. Instead, only those whose records show sufficient hatred, communalism, nepotism and, let me plainly put it, dumbness, will be considered worthy public faces of our republic. This way, we make sure that the ship does not move too fast. If we were to all too suddenly shake off the noble burdens of the past, what would future generations have to fight for? If women were no longer treated as properties of their communities, if one could scale up and down the social ladder the way one wants, where should all this lead? You, my esteemed citizens, see that my government continues to serve the paradigm of every government since our dusty old constitution was written, a paradigm which needs only one word: Continuity.
Like all in my cabinet, I have heard, pleasingly distant from the streets beyond my garden’s wall, the clamour of those who claim that our society is not living up to the ideals it set sail for. And I would like to calmly answer them: It must not, not now. If your dreams are still with the dusty old documents of our founding fathers, and let me stress the word fathers, not mothers, then I suggest to you taking an entrance exam to one of our public institutions. But me, and a majority of those who wield power in this state, are convinced that the tickle of nepotism, communalism and religious extremism is pleasant and necessary to keep all too high-flying dreams at bay. So, my impulsive friends, study hard for your exams if your illusory pursuit of change makes you happy. But for the majority of us, I would like to wish us good luck for the path of continuity in the next seventy years and beyond.
May things stay as they are. Hail the republic!