There was a time when parents used to teach and preach good habit to their children. “Do good, have good” used to be a common statement, a word of mouth. Society displayed the norms and values that now we dream of. I used to consider that these days can be brought back by some simple practices until I joined the social sector.
But now, parent-child relation of replication of good habit, norms and values has died off. If we see a child trying to help someone out, we feel our child’s security is at risk and he/she should keep his/her nose out of others’ business. Another reason beyond doubt is the lack of interaction between the two generations or the so-called “generation gap”. But there are other reasons too. As we are, a confused nation, we mix things up very easily. Good with evil, tricks with noble deeds, bigotry with unbiased, believes with faith and most of all politicians with leaders. We can’t even decide whether US is our friend or foe. In a system full of contradictions, controversies and mis-conceptions, topped by limitless corruption, we are confused down to the core. Bound by our selfishness, we create hurdles and hindrances for others either intentionally or habitually.
It has become practically difficult to do something for the betterment of our society, to restore peace, to help the needy or even to help others get some breathing space. In Pakistan, running a criminal outfit is way easier than initiating and running an NGO or social sector organization that works for improvement of system or lifestyle of the have-notch. First, you have to face corruption and undue delays when you go for registration, followed by account opening process in which the banks presume that you are going to indulge in some criminal or unlawful activity, treating you like thugs. No doubt, there is ample share in creating this situation from a few black sheep in NGO sector that have tarnished the image of NGOs but this doesn’t mean that every other NGO is going to follow in the footsteps.
Second phase is the intervention into your thematic area where you want to help your country grow or improve. Here comes the role of law enforcement agencies of Pakistan including some “men in black”. You want to work for a cause and target the most agonizing problem of Pakistan, Peace. You can’t protest without being targeted by some unknown persons. You want to conduct a seminar on inter-faith harmony, you are presumed as foreign agents by our agencies and interrogation starts there and then. Until you have some strong backing, you will spend the next few nights in a dark cell wondering what wrong have you committed. This is an example of how bottle-necked our system has become.
Any nation will experience a downfall if its systems don’t allow people the space for betterment. Chocking is inevitable, if you keep pressing down hard on a pillow placed over a man’s face. But until and unless the common man rises to the occasion, things are not going to get better. Until, we free ourselves of the clutches of evil politics, biases, self-centered future plans and looking towards others to come and help, we will keep on cursing politicians, bureaucracy, law-enforcement agencies, foreign agencies and other state and non-state factors. While, most of us are facing the issues of dependencies on time, weather and support of some great super hero, others are facing a dilemma.“To work for good or evil?”
