RUDENESS- CAUSES AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS as revised. Five persons gave their views on my essay “RUDENESS IS ON THE RISE” viz. 1. Mr. Muhammad Faheem blames” the weak cultural and social values of the average citizens in the land of the pure . By average citizen , he does not mean non- privileged only . “ 2. Mr. Aizaz Moin opines that “communication within the family , school , class ,workplace needs to be addressed . Our Indo-Pak culture is steeped in manners that are very pleasing and make you feel good for being what you are . This culture needs to be encouraged but it can be inculcated only is sons communicate to their fathers and daughters to their mothers , school masters to their pupils managers to the managed” . 3. Mr. M. Khalil Sufi feels that” it is the ‘generation gap ‘ to which it is difficult to adjust . One reason could be , the break up of family values , neighbourhood , community . The life style and way of thinking has changed . It is the youth power where the seniors don’t figure . The life and its values are dictated by the nouveau riche “ the first generation rich” quoted by yourself. One comes across ‘ rude behaviour’ as soon as one steps of the house .Well that is life . Accept or reject it “ . 4. Ms Amina Mahfooz blames “the lack of moral values , the lack of religious values and unnecessary competition between individuals and countries ( rat race) .” 5. My wife observed as follows :- a. Non observation of religious values b. Worries , anxieties and frustration are the source of rudeness c. Less desire to share of anxieties with others including family members. d. Employees have less time to attend to family needs . The common factors can broadly be classified as under :- 1. Failure to abide by the religious and moral code 2. Less communication within the family , schools , workplaces etc. 3. Rat race. 4. Weak cultural and social values among the average citizens . 5. The generation gap 6. Erosion of old values and replaced by the values of “ nouveau riche”. American magazines publish any issue and solve and print under the banner “ twenty easy steps to curb …….” However , let us look at those broad classification and try to analyze each one . I think in the final analyzes , the six points boil down to one i.e. we don’t follow the Holy Quran . Before the Industrial Revolution in Europe , the people used to spend their entire lives in one place . However , now in most parts of the world, an average family changes three or four jobs , and by inference, towns in their lives before finally retiring in a place which has easy access to all their needs for eg. medical care . They even leave the country of their birth for seeking better opportunities of employment , environment , improved their lifestyles . In Pakistan , we see such events daily . One brother lives in Denmark , another brother is settled in Australia , their sister lives in the Emirates while the parents live in the country presumably happy and contented . In this exercise , the religious , social and cultural values become a prey .While many Muslims try to adhere to the demands of Islam wherever they live in their adopted societies , we witness the erosion of values in other religions . However , a major factor behind this erosion is the separation of the Church and the State in the Christian world namely Europe , the Americas , Australia and New Zealand . The situation in the Muslim world is far from Islamic about which we have read or heard much . In its place is a poor imitation . The god of mammon (greed) prevails in the market instead of Islamic traits of mercy , benevolence and sacrifice . Hence the weak cultural and social norms prevail among the elite and the average citizens in Pakistan . With advancement a competition of sorts has set in . Nations and individuals compete with each other in their wealth , GNPs, GDPs, Per Capita Incomes , automobiles , tonnage of ships , military hardware ,trade in billions and trillions . In this race , the weak ,whether nations or individuals fall . The USA is the largest economy followed by China , Germany , Russia , UK , Switzerland etc. Forbes magazine , an American publication , prints annually a list of billionaires with the value of their assets . It has reportedly recently that the number of billionaires in the world has increased . It has written in the Holy Quran that the number of camels used to carry the keys to the wealth of Pharaoh’s deputy , Hamaan, was forty . I dare not imagine the wealth of the billionaires of today . However, it is enough to feed the starving humanity . Suffice to say that a lady in the US wants to sell her $ 65 million New York penthouse apartment . The goal of the business community is to maximize their riches regardless of the means whether fair or foul . The “ nouveau riche “ has replaced the old school and old values as torch bearers of society in Pakistan . The old values are fast eroding . The sedate lifestyle has been replaced by a fast life style . In the days of our parents and grandparents , no man or a woman was allowed to leave the house after dark . Each one was supposed to come home before sunset . Each man and each woman was supposed to dress sedately irrespective of their station in life . Even Hindus , with which we shared more than a thousand years of history , used to dress similarly . Any woman exposing her flesh was considered a slut , a wanton , a harlot unlike nowadays amongst the gentry. In the past hundred years or more in India , men and women would gather outside houses to talk . They would discuss among other things the welfare each member of the community . Or if the community was Muslim , the males would discuss those in the mosque . They would visit the house of the one who was ill and offer whatever was within their capacity . They would help the poor , the sick , the widows ,the orphans individually or collectively through the mosques . Inside the house , parents and children would talk to each other . Play games albeit crude . Old grandparents would tell stories or stories of the Muslim heroes for eg Sultan Salahuddin Ayubbi or Sultan Nuruddin Zangi to the younger lot .The mothers would educate their children while cooking meals for the immediate and extended family , if any stating with them. Through these the younger generation was prepared to face the world . Not any more . Neither the parents nor the children have time for each other . In the cities , the children and the parents have separate rooms which have been equipped accordingly . When the television was first introduced to Pakistan , the art of conversation through an old generation imparted knowledge to another generation was ‘cruelly’ replaced by eyes glued onto the TV screen . With added comforts for eg. the internet , the mobile , the tablet etc. the parents and their children have become strangers to each other . The office timings are playing a devilish game . If the man works from 9 AM till 7 or 8 or 9 PM , he has not much time even to see his children homework . The man ( if the wife works too ) comes home to sleep only . Discussions and sharing each others privy thoughts are the best medicines the world has ever produced . In their absence, men or women has none to tell their worries , anxieties , troubles , frustrations to . This has led to a higher percentage of divorces , increased cases of depression and even suicides . The writer will appreciate views to improve his essay . Mahfooz ur Rahman Islamabad March 17 , 2014
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 04:28:53 +0000
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