We have touched the lowest of lows in Pakistan. We are a perverse people. We love to indulge in what's wrong, what's contrary to 'expected normal and moral behavior.' And, the icing on the cake - we give obdurate excuses for our actions, and with confidence expect to be forgiven, understood, and be given an empathetic ear.
What is Mr. Mirza apologizing for exactly? Is he penitent over 'calling Muhajirs, people who have basically no rights over Karachi' or over the gung-ho comment about division of Sindh or is he ashamed of equating the leader of the MQM to criminals of higher degree (please note, the question isn't whether he is a criminal or not! just of degrees.) I think, the outburst (almost PMSic in nature) of the erstwhile home minister was a 'veiled threat' to opposing factions with the blessings of the PPP upper echelons. He cannot say what he said without approval from Islamabad, the fact that he willingly plays the fool and gets away with spewing venom is credit to his own very light character.
We disapprove of such statements, but do we do anything constructive to stem the tide of this ethnic hatred? Of course not, we go out and kill some more innocent people, torch a fleet of buses, burn tires, harass the public, spread alarm and fear and feel very proud of doing all this!
We are all clones of Mr. Mirza and Mr. Altaf Hussain and so on and so forth, our leaders haven't materialized from abroad or some other planet, have they? They are form amongst us, thinking what we think, and doing what we do or rather getting away with whatever we want to get away with but in reality cannot. So why just single him out? How is he different from the Mohajirs and Pathans that were at each others throats a week back? I mean we are all wrong, morally corrupt, hateful lot that deserve the wrath of a Biblical God, and one of Biblical proportion.
I wish there comes a huge flood or a drought or some endemic disease that wipes out the traces of our very ungrateful, hypocritical, selfish, indolent people off the face of the earth - perhaps a Day of Judgment is what we need to put us right and in our senses.
We love to criticize. We love to bitch. We are great mourners. We love to point out our wounds and go on and on about how the world, life, the universe has been unjust to us, how maligned are we, how persecuted in the name of god. We are wronged by the Americans (who have been pumping money from time immemorial,, we are targeted by Israel for having the nuclear bomb, we are hated by India because they want to invade us and take us over? I ask you, why in the world would India want to take us over? we are nothing but a liability!
We have forgotten how to behave. The norms of society, of living in a community are all forgotten by us, we do not know how to behave except 'How to react" we are not proactive merely reactive, if you will. No initiatives are taken by us, except in creating dissension, havoc and rampage. Our leaders who are a mirror of us, reflect what we are - too busy making money, furthering connections, serving many other agendas that have nothing to do with Pakistan and its people. But, we as people deserve them in every way, why should? no, I mean how can an Obama, a Gordon Brown, a Sarkozy and a Merkel come onto the horizon here? How is that ever possible?
Are we providing a conducive environment in which such leaders can take birth? Are we selfless to any degree? I don't think so! Our visions are extremely limited, we see nothing beyond an education that would get a good job, a car and a house with the right address - beyond this - what happens to out country, who is killing whom, isn't the headache of 99% people of our country, that all must be taken care of by our leaders!
We are in this quagmire because of what we are and what we are not. The leaders only are a bas-relief of our insides so why the disgust and why the repulsion at them!
Comments
Post a Comment