Policrook

Pageantry Is Cheaper Than
Progress.

Ah, behold the grand carnival of political theater—where substance is nothing more than a bad seat in the back row, and the headliners are polished smiles performing their scripted routines.
For the committed corrupt politician, the strategy is as clear as the smoke from an overhyped firework display: if you can’t deliver real change, distract them with opulence, orchestrate a razzle-dazzle show, and let the masses believe they’re part of something monumental, even if it’s just a glorified dog-and-pony show.
Welcome to the world of “innovation summits” and “economic forums,” a delightful sideshow where the only thing that won’t change is the length of your potholes.
Step aside, democracy; here comes pageantry! What’s cheaper than fixing infrastructure?
Throwing a glittering gala that has all the emotional heft of a birthday party for a three-year-old.
Why fix a bridge when you can host a “bridging the gap” summit, facilitated by overpaid consultants sipping champagne while you tell everyone how great they are for attending?
After all, people adore shiny objects—especially if they’re sold to them wrapped in a bow of goodwill and promises that never materialize.
Your first act in this charade?
Roll out the red carpet not for the hardworking citizenry, but for influencers and celebrities who couldn’t find a hard day's work with GPS and a flashlight.
Spend your money on extravagant locations where the average voter wouldn’t last ten minutes without a personal assistant carrying their shopping bags, because nothing screams economic empowerment like a gathering at a sanctuary of privilege.
Each caviar-stuffed bite is a distraction, a diversion away from vacant job listings and an economy slowly rotting like the leftovers from last night’s banquet.
“Look over here at our fabulous free appetizers!” they’ll say.
As if a pastry named “Tax Evasion Tiramisu” makes you less of a political albatross and more of a visionary.
But why stop at mere festivities when you can inflate your promises like a hot air balloon at a county fair?
It’s time to dazzle the masses with ludicrous initiatives that sound as important as an all-hands meeting at a sinking ship.
Enter your “groundbreaking” initiatives with names as profound as “The We-Hope-You-Forget-This-By-Next-Year Fund.” Toss in some fancy Memorandums of Understanding that require nothing more than the expenditure of an ink cartridge and the shaking of a hand.
Celebrate multi-party agreements like they’re the Treaty of Versailles, while critics are busy picking at your policy paper and your checkered past remains buried under a glittering façade.
And oh, the media circus! Your golden ticket to a distraction feast.
You hold the strings, and they will dance.
A beaming array of diverse faces at your “economic forums” mask the sobering reality just outside the banquet hall's immaculate windows.
While the press celebrates your hollow victories, you revel in the sound of flashing cameras drowning out the voices of those struggling to make ends meet.
Ensure your announcements are replete with buzzwords so outrageous they could make a game show host blush.
“Synergy” and “game-changing” become the political equivalent of putting neon lights on a rundown motel.
As you fake your way through the cheers, your administration can quietly let the economy decay like spoiled produce in the back of the fridge, while the masses remain mesmerized by your orchestrated spectacle.
Here lies the chilling reality: pageantry over progress is more than a tactic; it’s a con game designed to snuff out genuine discourse and replace it with a grotesque display of glittering corruption.
The more dazzling the show, the less attention paid to the reality of spiraling poverty, broken infrastructure, and the erosion of public trust.
So, wake up, voter! The lesson here is cunningly simple: the next time you watch your elected officials throw lavish summits in five-star resorts or fill the airwaves with empty rhetoric while cashing in on public office, remember: that’s not commitment—that’s distraction.
Corrupt politicians will paint themselves as saviors, but their true talent lies in misdirection.
Not all public servants are corrupt.
Still, many a politician works tirelessly to replace integrity with loyalty, fervently seeking those who will bow to the illusion rather than challenge the status quo.
Before you applaud the spectacle, start questioning the substance.
Because if you don’t wake up now, you’ll keep finding yourself clapping for your own exploitation, entranced by a dazzling façade erected by those who’d sooner watch your hopes deflate than raise a finger to help you.