Split Images, Split Realities: We Deserve Better

Posted on May 2, 2010
Filed Under >Farid Ahmad, Society
28 Comments
Total Views: 38759

Farid Ahmad

I look out the window at the beautiful mountains, the clear blue sky, and the wonderful winter sunshine. I see cars driving along the road – from the luxury four-wheelers, to the economy small cars. Busy people. Peaceful people. People going about their daily lives. People working hard on their jobs to feed their families, to fulfill their ambitions, to make something of their lives, to raise their children, to love and to live.

Then I hear the news of some terrible incident somewhere close by. The contrast between what I see all around and what I see in these isolated incidents is jarring.

And I think to myself, we’re peaceful, friendly peoplewe deserve better.

I walk out of a meeting and reflect on the people I have just been talking to. Intelligent, smart people. People with a sense of purpose, a sense of direction, with ideas, with the will to find new solutions, to overcome every obstacle and succeed. Articulate, intellectual people who fill you with confidence and hope.

Then I switch on the television and see a public figure harping on the same rhetoric he’s been spewing for years. He has no ideas for the future, he has no inspiration for his countrymen, he offers little hope and little sense of direction. The contrast between the people I meet everyday, and the people on television is jarring.

And I think to myself, we’re an intelligent peoplewe deserve better.

I finish reading a book on our history, our traditions. I think about the glorious selfless individuals who once led us, about the people who were kind, who had honor, who had values, who put their principles before themselves.

And then I think of our current crop of people in authority and the contrast is jarring.

And I think to myself, we are a people with a proud history, with a glorious traditionwe deserve better.

I drive along the M2, taking in the wide lanes, the lovely countryside, the clean, efficient service areas. As I stray above the speed limit I get pulled over by a traffic sergeant. He is polite but firm, courteous but confident. He doesn’t even hint for a bribe, simply writes me a ticket and advises me to drive more carefully for my own safety.

Then I reach the city and get mired in traffic again, the road is crowded, the lanes are narrow, and patience is running low. The contrast between where we are and where we can go is jarring.

And I think to myself, we are capable of so much morewe deserve better.

I visit the market and stopover at the video shop. I browse through DVDs of the latest hollywood blockbusters, and a dazzling choice of music from around the world. I head over to the bookshop next and spend a pleasant hour leafing through literature on every topic under the sun and from around the world. The place is buzzing with people, moderate, intelligent people with an interest in the world around them and a hunger for the creative outlets.

Then I turn on a foreign news channel and see a couple of guys discussing Pakistan as if it were some prehistoric backwater filled with people disconnected from modern life. The contrast between how we live and how people see us is jarring.

And I think to myselfwe deserve better, we deserve so much better.

I have no answers.

I don’t know how to bridge the contrast between the reality of a great country, with proud people and glorious traditions; the equally jarring reality of a greedy, spineless set of people holding them back; and a suspicious world that is bent upon painting 170 million people with a single, morbid brush .

But I know this: change will come, change is inevitable. We have too much potential to go down as history’s footnote! We deserve better!

Farid Ahmad blogs at ‘How Many Roads Must a Man Walk Down.’

28 responses to “Split Images, Split Realities: We Deserve Better”

  1. Aamir Ali says:

    The New York Times Square bomber turned out to be a Pakistani……….this article is so on the mark.

    btw Adnan Siddiqi…..another of your beloved terrorists has committed a crime and created more problems for Pakistanis and Muslims.

  2. Faraz says:

    @Adnan,
    Dude, yes there are liberals with islamophobia, but your rants are utter rubbish, and actually hurt the very cause you are trying to support. This video has no context, and doesn’t really show torture. At most this video shows what we all already know about the Pakistani police, that they rough up their suspects. This has nothing to do with being liberal or whatever. No one supports this kind of behavior. Adil or this blog don’t have the responsibility of condemning everything that goes wrong in this country, let alone a bad quality short video that has no context.

    And on top of all that your post was completely off topic. I hope others wont waste their time responding to this.

  3. Adnan Siddiqi says:

    As usual pseudo intellectual Pakistanis living in state of denial and delusion. Watch the video, this was not done by liberals “best friend” Talibans rather than It was done by Pakistani police. Now there is no “Brutal” Hudood law either, why are women are still being mistreated. The most disgusting thing in the video is that other women are partner in crime.

    tinyurl.com/pakistaniwomenbeaten

    Now where’s that lady Azab Min Allah who engineered the fake Swat Video? How come she does not have love for this woman? Why don’t I hear any NGO to raise voice against this brutal act? Are people like Afia Siddiqi and this Lady Dr are not worthy enough to be given respect? or our fundo NGOs were not funded enough by their Western masters to speak against this violence?

    Adil, at one side you cry all the time for Pakistan and make infinite posts against Talibans violence but now you are shutup and as uusaul no courage to speak about it?

    In which world do you people live? Maybe our liberals are in comma or Islamophobia is being the biggest hurdle for them to use their upper chamber *shrug*

  4. AHsn says:

    “We deserve better”
    Yes you do, on the basis of your personal (unknown to others) qualities which are known to you and perhaps to your family and friends.

    The others judge you on your apparent qualities and on your actions. There you fail the test.

    AHsn, Strasbourg

  5. Sadia Hussain says:

    The future of Pakistan seems prosperous as we have realized our blunders and are working to ratify our mistakes. The immense potential of our masses should be channelized to make Pakistan a better place, as intolerance and religious extremism has plagued our nation for decades.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*