There isn't a doubt about it. We are an authoritarian society, but not an authoritarian nation, and this oxymoron in our condition creates the faults and crevices that we see in the fabric of our people in Pakistan. I know it's the easiest thing to condemn and make calculative and logical observations in hindsight but to think and act with rationality and grace at the time of crises is what calls for character - and that is one thing we Pakistanis lack completely. You would say and that too rightly that here she goes again with her Pakistani bashing mantra, but the fact remains. We lack the knowledge of who we are, and in that ignorance of self behave like character-less people.
Everyone and anyone is an expert/an authority on a subject and these so called people are brought on to the plethora of TV talk shows, that perhaps more than 70% people have access to, to give their 'expert' opinion from subjects as varied as how to decorate a plastic bottle with pom poms (no kidding) to tell whether you have black magic done on you, on what is the right Islam, and yes the best one - how to lead your bloody life. We love to tell other people how they must dress, how they ought to think, how they must behave and so on and so forth.
Random people who think a hijab, or a beard and desi clothes make you religious and a scholar on Islam come and expound theories and present fiery sermons la Terry Jones style that for a minute make you feel you are not a Muslim in the first place. Then everyone has something to say on injunctions of Islam they don't find convenient to follow - a man is a devout Muslim the minute he wants to marry a second or a third time, for hell! that is his eternal right granted to him by GOD. But, the same man when opening a bottle of Black Label will forget about which god he was referring to.....and will find you truly offensive if (god forbid) you are a woman and reminds him of this dichotomy in his beliefs!!!
I frequently hear phrases like this in this country in company 'what does he think of himself, if I want I can fix him up in two seconds', or, I have the resources to maza chakao that person but since I don't believe in fighting and revenge I'm keeping quite, or I bloody hell do this and that to him, one phone call and he will remember for the rest of his life.... Errrr, what is wrong with our psyche, even if a police constable stops us on the road side doing his duty we get offended because we don't like his actual and legal authority on us for we deride him our bosoms for being from perhaps a lower strata of the society, income wise. His questioning us is more a matter of our losing face, 'how dare he' doesn't he know that the DIG Police is my friend! errr NOOO...... what kind of warped thinking is that?
Following the law is thought to be cowardly. Macho men and of course their families can do what they want and here the social status hardly matter, a man on a motorbike will run a red light as many times as a man driving his pajero. We like to wield power, but not accept power of anyone over us. But our reality is so different - being a sovereign nation we are hardly that, not even in name now, just see what happened on Youm-e-Ishq Rasool day, we react as others want us to and then try and think afterwards that perhaps what we did was not the wisest thing.
We want the world to spin the way we want it to, but we are unwilling to accept the rules of the game, for us its like a child playing a game and wanting to win every turn...for us it's always a matter of who's right and we all have a first hand claim to that position ... hmmm creates a bit of a problem.
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