Sometimes, when I get tired of all the bad news around, in the press, in the streets, on T.V; when everyone says this is a wicked world; when people here, in pakistan, say that the future is bleak and go away from the country; when I hear the common phrase that " Is mulk ka kuch nahi ho sakta" (Nothing good can come out of this country); I wonder whether there is no such thing as hope left. Why are we always willing to talk about evil in the world, but are always surprised when something good happens....It may be a bit difficult and I have started this topic on the risk of being incoherent, but have we really forgotton that humans are not entirely evil or good. There are no black and whites, only greys.
I feel that the world is going on because even now, the good in people far outnumbers the bad. Oh I know, it sounds idealistic, but very often, when we are so tired of finding bad traits in everyone, we do come across a few examples of good people doing good deeds without any expectation of reward. Today, I learnt that a man in Islamabad, Pakistan has been teaching free of cost to children, youngsters,anyone in short in an open ground for the last 18 years. He goes to his job in the morning and then comes back and teaches to poor people free of cost, come rain or whatever. At one time, there are about 300 students and up to now he has taught about 5000.With no help from Government or any NGO, this man has kept this going on for 18 years. Now, many young girls and boys have joined him as teachers....I find this great. These people are our real heroes.
Few people know that Pakistan is the country with the highest number of charitable donations. We tend to remember only the suicide bombings. Whenever one's car break downs in an out of the way spot, one can usually find someone who comes to help, does it and goes off before you can say thank you. There was one professor in my university who could go home walking because he had given all the money in his pocket for a poor kid.
There are countless such instances. These incidents touch me, because these remind me taht there is still much good left in the world and all is not lost, yet.
I know what you're talking about, but I'm afraid there is a contradiction you are going to have to deal with here: folks living in countries with weak rule-of-law tend to be friendlier and politer than those from countries with the strong rule-of-law that you profess to desire for Pakistan. There are several reasons for this, I think, among them the fact that in a strong rule-of-law country it is much safer to be rude to others, there is probably some sort of safety net to take care of the majority of welfare cases so the well-off feel it is someone else's problem while the recipients of such aid treat it as a "right" rather than charity.
ReplyDeleteI do wish I could take the friendliness of a Pakistani and graft it on to Americans and others without being beholden to give or receive corrupting favors in return, but I haven't yet hit on a foolproof way to do so. Got any ideas?
Hmmm may be there's some truth in what you say, but there is another reason also....People in differnt parts of the world are different....People here in the Sub Continent have always been friendly...Religion has always been an important factor here and all religions preach goodness, so maybe some good has come out of it here....But I dont find this as any excuse that countries with strong law compensate for the friendly nature of its citizens....I mean, charity should be given because God likes it and taken because one has the feeling taht God looks after his own...like Muslims have a belief that all Rizk(food, life sustenance), is written by God and pre-determined but one has to struggle for it. However this doesnot mean that one starts wrenching food away from others in order to eat it oneself....
ReplyDeleteReligion should be a guiding light in kindness and charity...not only to fellow Muslims or Jews or Christians but for all humans....because after all, our God is one
Totally agreed. Like the title of this post. And yes, keep up the good work. Love
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