We as a nation have become so used to being fooled by our leaders and our moments of joy are so scarce and fleeting that we are just not accustomed to celebrating them wholeheartedly; we remain suspicious about the real significance of what is presented to us. We have become addicted to gloom and for reasons that are not so flimsy our ability to appreciate the brighter side of a situation may have diminished. Yet a ray of hope is always kindling in the human breath.
Yet here in our country, for which people scarified their lives and homes, instead of thinking for bettering the way, teaching moral standards with good values and education, all we do is trivial pursuits and nothing else. The prime example: changing the name of a province. Will it make life any better? Will the problems of everyday life lessen? No.
This country from one end to another is completely locked into everything that is nonsensical; spot the trivia and cotton on it and stay stead fast, getting a new name is all that matters, the rest can go to the dogs.
Pakistan is in dire straits, there are a lot of people who delude themselves and think that waving the flag and singing the anthem will solve our problems. Reality is a bit different. We have huge problems and they are not going to fizzle away. There is no other solution but for all of us to take stock of our predicament and take meaningful steps.
Power should have been the first priority, but other trivia of daily life seems to inspire the wooly headed thinking of the top. There seems to be no one inclined to tackle the enormous issues we have which seem to be crippling the lives of millions.
There are laws but who is following them. It’s not the storm that matters but the way we set our sails that enables us to steer our course through hardships and distress towards a peaceful harbour of a well deserved success.
For this, we need to be strong in our moral ethics, have integrity and sincerity in tackling anything. This can only happen through education and as Napoleon once said, “Give me good mothers and I will give you a good nation”, we need to teach our people how to be good human beings and take responsibility for their actions.
MAHA ISHTIAQ
Lahore