The essence of humanity, and its decay in Pakistan
Humanity is a virtue associated with basic ethics of altruism, and it is derived from human conditions. While having a brief thought on humanity, what strikes our mind is that humanity imprints in us certain ideas, with many dimensions, which are worthy of practice, being human.
We often delineate its meaning precisely and concisely in terms of showing love and pity to the people around, sustaining peace, spirit of sacrifice, calm eloquence, giving hands to a yearning one, pocketing poverty-stricken people, and in many other ways and approaches, where humanity reflects its concept.
It will be feeble to expound and elucidate the true essence of humanity just by defining what it is or what it should be. Rather, we are to exercise humanity by inculcating all the entities which fall in the scope of humanity, and not by showing it just with our verbosity, because it an amalgamation of all moral virtues and acts which keep worth only when we bring them to practicality.
Since I met my proper senses to judge the happening around me, I have found that humanity in my beloved country is decaying and getting worse each day. The core reasons behind these insights were, and are, the true annunciators and proclaimers of humanism and humanity , THE HUMANS.
Pakistan is a country with an official name that contains “Islamic Republic” as a prefix. But, I am narrating here with a heart-piercing pain that being Pakistani and being Islamic are two entirely different concepts.
Islam is a religion of which the very inaugural theme and motive is to serve humanity by eradicating all social anomalies and thereby bringing peace and prosperity. But, as a citizen of Pakistan, I have rather seen humanity screaming and suffering all around. I have seen bloodbaths. I have seen nihilistic genocides. I have seen people taking lives in the name of religion, which actually never taught us such things in any way. I have seen nepotism, biases, racial tensions, sectarian tussles, and killings in the name of keeping the so-called honor intact, and what not.
And so, being a Pakistani I have seen both humanity and honor perishing, starting from child molestation, harassment, abductions, suicide bombings, robberies and all possible social immoralities to which giving an end is not possible with these typing fingers.
The essence of humanity has taken some other routes nowadays; it is going towards perpetration of ill-doings, the whole of which branches beyond the confines of humanity.
I remember from my childhood, when I was a school boy, that the news of a protest, or a strike, or a rally, was always good to hear, because it essentially meant that my school would remain closed. I remember that I didn’t understand what these protests were meant for. But, to me, it was an exciting prospect because it brought me a day off from school.
Little did I know that it was the starting of my exposure to the horrors of this society. I gradually came to know about the reasons. I came to know that it was, mostly, because of a sectarian clash. I came to know that some of the protests were because of the assassination of a political leader, or a religious one.
With the flow of time, and age, I came to know about all the root causes of these protests, and unlike my childhood, I am now not happy.
While thinking about all of the above, certain questions, causes and conclusions, pop into my mind!
If we are suffering and not getting offended, if we are bearing atrocities but not being vocal against it, if we are seeing people getting stung by the same, but still we are enduring the situation with zipped lips, then I think we are the cause behind everything that is happening to us.
We are providing them the reasons, almost asking them to come and kill us, ruin us, assuring them, through our actions, that we would not do or say anything. Our lives are all yours. We are all yours.
The contributor is a BS Hons student at GC University, Lahore, majoring in Business and Finance.
