Our nation is so possessed with talk of piety and religiosity that there seems to be few takers of self-improvement with clear thinking

Most of us love talking. As our level of agitation grows, we break away from our mother tongue and switch to English. The voice gets shriller, arguments become incoherent, and soon, intimidation enters the strategic options of the two contending parties. So long as both sides play dumb charades, there’s no significant resolution of issues and no serious anxiety. Trouble begins when one side escalates unreasonableness, which usually ends in abuses. The other side may begin by keeping calm but ultimately succumbs to retaliation in face of continuous aggression. When this happens to people below 30 years of age, it can be written off, maybe wrongly, as immaturity. Beyond 30 years, it can only be foolhardiness and an invitation to the other party to dare. The bluff gets called sooner rather than later and then all hell is let loose. Even newspapers, dotted with tales of conflict, which began as verbal duels and punishments to some, have not helped others to learn from the sorry twist to sordid tales of invectiveness.

One might ask, why do two people of this description ever get together? Reasons can be many — they may be staying under the same roof, their communities and work may bring them together, in short it may be just about anything. The urge to command and have things one’s way leads not only to counter-productive verbal duels, but at times, as indicated in earlier lines, to physical violence or even worse. What is narrated above is neither uncommon nor can it be laid at the doors of youthfulness. Nobody gains and yet very few, if anyone, learn. Such scenes are common everywhere. Looking at all this, one may well wonder if human beings are capable of significant evolution. Community life is no different — there it is called freedom of speech. Elections to five States are barely over, and the president of a national party has set the standards high on intimidation by claiming that he will not let the leader of the ruling party sleep. If that is his ambition, who can grudge it? Yet, it holds to reason that if perpetrators of such abuse had really nothing to gain, then such petty intimidations would hardly have been made. The fact is, given a contentious situation, election or otherwise, wild rhetoric without any obvious agenda does seem to give some advantages to the demagogue of the day.

This is not a good example for the generation in a formative phase. Almost 15 or 20 years later, when they graduate to unbridled adulthood, they may even find vile invectives as normal or useful weaponry. In an era of lumpen assertiveness, misconstrued formulations on gender parity and search for identity without the responsibility to carry one’s identity can be a suicidal proposition. It is not just a coincidence that endemic domestic and street violence is escalating. People, who would calmly drive past an accident-hit victim gasping for breath, or overlook a woman being physically harassed, suddenly become champions of reasonableness once their own interests are hurt. It may not be fashionable anymore to read religious texts for their sheer literary beauty or philosophical insights but to convert them into a denominational proposition of a campaign. However, the truth is that everyone is interested in finding out the truth and it hurts when one realises that s/he was wrong all along. It is precisely these double standards of running with the hare and hunting with the hound that can be disastrous. It is only when one realises the unreasonableness of one’s logic that he/she will make amendments. There is no formula to cause this awareness. Decision-making in communities, organisations and the nation seems to be a victim of this malaise.

The outcome is for everyone to see. The individual is struck with hypertension, communities are embroiled in sub-terranean tug-of-war, larger communities in vilification and the nation at large with unprecedented foul public discourse. This is a road to nowhere. A movement of self-analysis, introspection and objective thinking would clearly be in order. The trouble is our nation is so possessed with talks of piety, religiosity and fear of the divine, there seems to be few takers of personal growth, self-improvement with clear thinking. Pilgrimages will be undertaken and vows offered in anxiety or aspiration. Religious places spawn their own culture of petitioning the almighty. This covers everything from tying threads around the trees to making offerings in places of worship but one simple thing which can be done goes by default — and that is to think straight. One should simply hold one’s peace and not talk in a manner in which he/she doesn’t want to be talked to. The ironies of life, when they stop tickling, sometimes also cause tears to dry. Yet, life goes on.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant)