Politics of fear is rampant in Papua New Guinea

In a country where we have a very complex culture in contrast to other countries around the world is that, we have too much social issues on our plate to handle at one particular time. The politics of fear is no exception. Politics is prevalent and practised by all sectors in the societies of Papua New Guinea and what is sad today is that it is creeping quietly but rapidly into the churches of Papua New Guinea.

A lot of Lutheran followers are interested to know, for example; who will be the next new head bishop for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELC-PNG). I am assuming that the members of ELC-PNG and their leaders are ONLY praying for the success of this process and that is the only tool they have and nothing else. If there is divisions and rumors behind the scenes at Ampo - the church's head office then; I think God is not included in the process of electing the head bishop. As a Lutheran, I am keeping my fingers crossed and eyes and ears open.

Fear, overtime can be agonizing

Politics of fear in Papua New Guinea is one of the major contributing factors in causing chaos and social disorder in government, churches, communities, and workplaces where innocent people fall victims to few individuals' actions which are uncalled for.

It seems that one of the principal discoveries made by twenty-first century media pundits is that politicians or so called leaders use fear to sustain their authority. While few politicians play the game of politics on a level playing field, the vast majority of politicians sought to further their selfish agendas by manipulating public anxiety about terrorizing others, especially using guns in the highlands during elections - a dangerous trend undermining democracy in Papua New Guinea.

Instead of a debate about choices and alternations in our societies in Papua New Guinea, we have an outlook of fatalism and conformism, in which politicians and leaders in all spectrum are assigned an increasingly passive roles. We cannot go back to the enlightenment, and today's conservatism of fear offers us no way forward.

Politics of fear concludes by offering us two clear alternatives. We can renounce the gains of history and resign ourselves to the prevailing culture of fatalism; or we can refuse to celebrate passivity and vulnerability and 'set about humanising our existence'. The choice is ours and ours alone.

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