One Friday afternoon, a friend popped a question of “when is a gift a gift and gift as a bribe?” I was totally dumbfounded because I don’t how to answer the question. Gifts are something that most people value and something others look forward to have. Who else won’t love to be given gifts? But really when is a gift truly a gift and not the other way around?
A gift is a gift if you do it with no strings attached. It is supposed to be unconditional. You give a gift out of admiration, gesture or simply you wanted to surprise or thank someone for his or her good deeds. It may be pricey or it may be priceless as long as it’s a gift. The recipient would love to accept and treasure it. And some would even give gifts in return. It may sound so ideal but that’s the principle of giving gifts.
On the other hand, some would equate gifts as a form of bribe. And who else love to bribe? It is their form of pampering their recipient and expects political or business favor in return. It’s an unwritten rule of giving gift as a bribe. In this political season, gifts are bound with different gimmickry. Some politicians resort to give gifts to the poor or in charitable institutions. And others will throw out a huge party as gift for their supporters’ tireless support. Some businessmen or private groups or individuals will give gifts as a form of donation to bankroll the campaign.
The preceding example may be of different form but it has same intention. It’s to bribe no less. Politicians will do everything in their capacity to polish their image and having the charity plus the poor people is an instant picture perfect. That would be used for political advertisement since some need a boost to their lackluster ratings in the survey and some are so desperate to be the front runner. Moreover, holding a party is actually a caucus to gather their throng of supporters and brag it to their political opponents. It’s also the self vested interests that trigger some to bankroll the campaign of a certain politicians. Is it the system of gift giving the problem or the giver itself?
The recipient may not know their intentions or simply ignore it but they are unwilling or willing victim for political ploy. They may have a choice to accept it or not but some politicians or people are even making a deal out of it. It takes two to tango. It is not proper to give gifts because you wanted something in return. And also it is not good to accept gifts for personal gain and to be use for some political gimmick.
Indeed, there’s a great difference between giving gift as a gift and giving it as a form of bribe. How unfortunate to note that some are consume of desperation that they are making business out of giving gifts. It goes against the moral fiber of our society and it further cripples our system. We should always uphold the principle of gift giving and shun away those who play con for their self benefit.
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