Anomie, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is described as the social instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values between an individual and their community ties. Community ties refer to the social institutions which harness the functions of any society.
If the individuals are unable to rely or depend on these institutions then such a state is often termed as anomic. Perhaps it would be safe to assume that Pakistan has entered into the list of such states, keeping in mind the current scenario which envelopes the nation.
The latest blast sent out to society was about the media itself, when a controversial video was leaked of an interview aired by two renowned journalists of Malik Riaz. The contents of the video need not be mentioned as a majority of the people are now aware of them.
The one thing which is required to be understood is that our people are very swift in making generalisations and jumping to conclusions. After only an hour of the video being leaked on the internet, I came across many people who had marked the media as completely corrupt. There have also been a number of people on social networking sites who are propagating that journalists can no longer be trusted.
The people need to understand that just because a few fish in the pond are dirty, that doesn’t mean the whole water body is polluted. It’s true that certain journalists have compromised their sincerity to the profession, but to stereotype the whole institution as redundant, just on the basis of one video, is unreasonable and unfair.
Therefore I would request all who are reading this to not form hasty opinions just because of peer pressure or because of what you hear from others. Do your own research and then make speculations free of bias.
MUHAMMED FAIQ LODHI
Karachi
