Reality Check – Manners Please!

‘’‘Self analysis’ every once in a while is very healthy for our development and growth as human beings and as a society on the whole’’, this was the abstract of an article I read online. Reading this automatically made me ponder over our state as a nation. There’s no doubt about the fact that we are a very warm-blooded, hospitable and brave nation. But as every country has its set of shortcomings we also have quite a plethora of them. And today, I want to focus on just that. Not talk about what are we the victims of, but just analyze ourselves and our behavior. I strongly believe in recognizing our wrongs, embracing them and turning them into positives. Because in reality it’s not just all things good, it’s rather quite thorny and dingy.

Below is my take on some of the very common ailments that we as a nation suffer from on a daily basis.

English Complex Syndrome:

Culture has many components, language being one of them. Language is essentially part of culture but not culture in its entirety. Being progressive and modern in thought and actions is much appreciated but judging ones fellow countrymen (women too, for that matter) on the basis of their poor English-speaking skills is absolutely absurd and preposterous. One must realize that learning English doesn’t necessarily make them superior and it should be treated like any other language. We are an insecure nation in general who develop complexes as soon as we hear someone talking in English. We get “inspired” by people not because of their capabilities and abilities but because of their fluency in the English language, without realizing if whatever they say is even right or wrong in the first place. As important as it is to encourage our youth to speak and understand this language, in order to be a progressive state it is equally important to realize that while in the process of learning English they should not forget their own language, Urdu. We are forgetting our language. Not just that, in fact we have stopped owning it.

Meera’s claim to fame, for instance, is her poor English vocabulary. She has become the laughing-stock of society due to this sole reason.

Let’s face it, if you’re reading this piece (which is ironically in English) you most likely belong to the tiny population of the English-speaking strata of our society. And making fun of other people who are lesser apt in English is quite a routine among your circle. Well, I have three words for you: Shame on you!

Lack-O-Manners Disorder:

This disorder deals with a serious dearth of manners. Be it staring at passersby, especially women or spitting whenever and wherever one pleases. Men are not deemed manly enough if they don’t use foul language in routine conversations and women are not considered feminine enough if they don’t shout at the top of their lungs in routine. Other distasteful actions I’d rather not mention are also integral parts of this disease.

Hy-Genetic Malfunction:

Major hygiene issues are also diagnosed which add to further beautifying our environment, people are allowed to urinate in public without any shame but on the other hand, can’t kiss in public without attracting a million stares and curses. Not that I’m a supporter of ‘kissing’ in public, but this is only to stress the point that the former act should be strictly disallowed.

Nose-Poking Fever:

We all have an abundance of the nose-poking fever patients in every household. These patients can not mind their own business and cannot help poking their fat noses in everyone else’s affairs.

A Highly Curious Case of Chinese Whisper:

Most proud Pakistanis dearly love the ‘Chinese’ whisper, we beat the media in surging out information. News and gossip spread faster than wildfire when it’s disclosed (or even kept in complete secrecy) to our neighbors or other friendly fellows. It reaches the masses in a flash and that too with a lot of added and subtracted material – never in its original form. In most cases, the ‘nose-pokers’ win the Chinese Whisper championship.

Double Standards Tumor:

The presence of this deadly tumor makes the patient a complete hypocrite. An example of which could be setting one’s country on fire and demanding YouTube to be blocked but then accessing the same website by using proxy servers behind closed doors in cozy homes.

Self-Proclaimed Moral-itus:

This is a very lethal disease because it deals with heaven and hell. One wrong step and you fall in the hell fire! It is also very contagious and causes many brigades of self-proclaimed, respected, morally pious people to loiter freely all throughout the country passing Haraam and Halaal judgments on all sorts of people without knowing an iota about them or their backgrounds. These pious patients are often diagnosed with the lack-o-manners disorder and believe that it is Haraam to wear perfume but Halaal to kill someone with one’s body odour.

Pakistan already is undergoing a lot of trying times with a very depressing atmosphere in general. We have a lot of people to blame for a lot of things going wrong in the country and the world. And that is the sole focus of our bickering and pointless discussions. But let’s, for a change, focus on what we can do to make it better, how we can change ourselves and our attitude as a nation, how we can improve on all these tiny little things and become better, productive, positive people. Inculcating a little civic sensibility among ourselves would make this society a better place for us to live and coexist with our fellow countrymen. It is always one step at a time and that tiny little step puts us in the right direction and is the beginning of the road to success. Let’s make this our new year’s resolution and work towards being better people.

Thumbnail Image Rights Reserved to Jiah’s Photography.