Is There An Alternative?

A human being is known to resist change. In such cases, he or she is reminded - Change is the only thing which is  constant in life. There are other times when he craves for change. In this case, he or she urges for a change but often does not find any alternatives for change. 

The question that plagues his mind is - Is there an alternative??

Is There An Alternative

This is the question that has been on the top of my mind since "the so called cricket experts" are pushing for a separate captain for the Indian cricket team for Test's and One Dayer's.  

MS Dhoni, the incumbent captain in both forms of the game, and the toast of the nation just 8 months back is facing a flak for his lackluster leadership in the recent 2 Test loss against the Aussies. He is considered to be unimaginative in Test Cricket. He is thought to be a safe player in Test Cricket.

And with just a two Test match loss behind his back in the current Australian tour, the "experts" have started gunning for his neck and are insisting for a change.

My question is - Is there an alternative? 

Alternative Ideas

Is there one player in the current Indian cricket team to be a Test captain? No. 

There isn't a single player in the Indian cricket team who can become a leader. Be it Virender Sehwag, or Gautam Gambhir, they do not have the persona and the demeanor to lead India. The other guys who were vice captains earlier - Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh - are not even a part of the team.

All in all, no alternatives. So what's the point yelling for a change?

Same is the case with the Indian voters. The current spate of scams, the lackluster leadership, the Lokpal fiasco, the decision paralysis make them crave for change.

But once again - Is there an alternative?

Is there a single party on India's political horizon - apart from the Congress - who can provide stable governance for the next five years. The answer is No.

The BJP is leaderless. The people will not be interested in voting for an ageing LK Advani. Neither do Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, or Nitin Gadkari do not have any national following. Go to Tamil Nadu and ask what is Sushma Swaraj's claim to fame, the Janata will ask - Sushma Who?? 

The same is the case with "the Third Front". Once again, they do not have any national leader. Why would anyone from Jammu Kashmir want Nitish Kumar to be the PM? Why would anyone from Maharashtra want "Ms. West Bengal" Mamta to be the PM?

The summary once again - No Alternatives.

No Alternatives Either

And if the Indian citizens are clueless about the leadership in the political circles, they need not fear - they are not alone. The same question is troubling the American citizens.

After all the promise that Barack Obama had shown prior to his 2009 elections, he has, at best, put in an average performance. He had to deal with a massive depression in the early part of his tenor, and a "depression-like" situation at the current moment. 

His only standout point in the last 3 years has been the assassination of dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden in May 2011. He has faced criticism on the Afghan war and the Libyan war. The unemployment rate in USA is also on the rise for the past 3 years. 

Amazing Alternatives

Even if the American people may feel let down after the promise shown by Obama, they may desire for a change. But is there an alternative?

All in all, he may face Mitt Romney in the presidential elections later next year. And for all probabilities, the people are expected to favor Obama again. 

The reason is once again evident - There is No Alternative.

Lets take a look at the global currency market. The Chinese have made the Yuan freely trade-able. The Euro was going strong 8 months back. The Indian Rupee was also hovering around 43 INR for every USD. The USA was [is] staring at a possible recession.

In this entire situation, you could expect the American Dollar to weaken. But then Greece had a big problem with its sovereign debt. The Euro took a huge hit. The Japanese Yen took a beating due to the massive tsunami last year. Uncertainty was the order of the day. 

No Alternatives

Where did the financial whizkid's take solace? In the American Dollar. The reason - There Is No Alternative.

In all these circumstances, it is best to be reminded of Henry Kissinger who is known to have said - "Moderation is a virtue only in those who are thought to have an alternative." 

But No, I am not an opponent of change. I do believe in this quote by Dr. Carl Sagan - “We are prodding, challenging, seeking contradictions or small, persistent residual errors, proposing alternative explanations, encouraging heresy. We give our highest rewards to those who convincingly disprove established beliefs.”

There Are Many Alternatives

Let's all hope that in all the situations mentioned above, there are adequate alternative options available. This would allow the incumbent to be on his toes, and would open up the options for the general people. And may the best man win.