Honesty – The Policy of Fools?
What is honesty? I asked myself. After a long debate between my heart and mind, I couldn’t conclude what honesty is. So, I did some research with the intent to find out. The best and easy way I could come up with the solution was to google ‘honesty’. While googling it, I discovered that honesty is the policy of fools in this cunning and selfish world because Google says, honesty is;
- Telling the truth
- Straightforward conduct
- Being sincere, truthful, trustworthy, honourable, fair, genuine and last but not least being loyal with integrity.
Now please stop being emotional for a while and think rationally; do you find anyone around you who has the above mentioned characteristics? Of course, there me be some people out there with a few of theses qualities but let me be completely honest with you, it’s very hard to find someone around us with all these characteristics.
Hold on! I am not talking in terms of religion because our politicians are so good at it that they can’t be copied (I think I need to learn this art from a politician so that I may convey my point easily) but my conscience doesn’t allow me to do so. I am talking in general and worldly terms so that everyone may get my point.
I hope you all remember Jagjit Singh; the great Indian singer, who sung in one of his songs that:
“Jhoot waley Kahin se kahin barh gai,
aur main thaa k Sach bolta reh gaya”.
(Poet: Wasim Brelvi)
I think he was representing every one of us. Aren’t we all victims of dishonesty and corruption? Think for a while and perhaps you will come up with an answer, “Yes”. May be our friends have cheated us. May be our ‘significant others’ are lying about how they were always single and didn’t don’t have an affair with anyone else. May be our teachers are have personal grudges against us. May be we were denied jobs or intern-ships or even admissions because we didn’t have a Parchi (reference). May be we got jobs, intern-ships or admissions because of Parchi. Aren’t these all forms of dishonesty or corruption? May be yes or may be no; you decide!
In this corrupt era, an honest man is a fool. For instance, a student who got his Post graduate degree from one of the best institutes of Pakistan in 2008 is still unemployed. Why? Well, his bad luck, he doesn’t have any good references. Many incompetent people from his town got jobs because they had the right references. There are thousands of young graduates out there in Pakistan who are unemployed not because they aren’t qualified enough but because they don’t have references.
You must have heard the proverb that money makes the monkey dance (Paisa phenk, tamasha dekh). This proverb fits the situation nicely. If you don’t have references then don’t worry but you must have a good amount of money (any figure in 6 digits usually does the trick). Though bribery is prohibited in religious scriptures but who cares about religion when it comes to living a luxurious and hassle-free life. Unfortunately, money is the deity that everyone believes in and it will work for you surely.
There was a professor in Baluchistan (if memory serves right) who performed his duty honestly despite facing many obstacles and retired respectably after a long career after which he spent the remainder of his life standing in long rows to get his pension. Did honesty pay him? Not really. This is only one case but there are thousands of people dying out there standing in rows to get their pensions. A dishonest officer is considered smart and logical by the society, no matter how he/she earns but an honest officer is a fool for the society because he/she doesn’t follow the system. Want to move ahead? Then follow the system which is full of corruption and filth; fair warning though, once you step in the stench of corruption and dishonesty will mar you forever.
By birth, no one is born corrupt but corruption is like a spreading germ. An honest person is a fool in the eyes of the society because he goes against the system. A principle oriented person is ridiculed in this society because he prefers to be an honest man as per his principles and values. He becomes the laughing stock even for his own people (relatives). Everybody likes a winner, nobody cares how the winner got to where he is.
No matter what society calls honest people, they are the actual heroes in today’s world. They are alive in our hearts, they are our ideals, they are our real inspirations and history tells that the names of honest people are always written in golden words. I personally believe that this world is in functioning condition just because of the honest people. So, forget whatever’s written above just make your principles and abide by them; no matter whatever you may face just be honest to yourself. Remember, don’t care what others say; just be honest to yourself. Majority doesn’t decide what’s right or wrong but your conscience does. So, let me re-phrase the heading to the “Dishonesty; the policy of fools”.