Ill attempt to blur difference between black and white


Khawaza Main Uddin   | Published: February 02, 2021 22:22:37


Representational image

There is at least one party of wrongdoers among the participants of the most contentious recent events. The riots by Trump supporters at US Congress building, anti-Putin rallies that demand release of a Russian opposition leader, framers' protests in India against certain laws, Uganda's election challenged by the opposition and the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist - all show a certain pattern of actions and reactions within the systems of the world we live in.

Fairly understanding what the righteous course in each case is, the antagonists take bold attempts to place arguments, and if that is not enough, act aggressively against ethical standpoint backed by objective truth. They intend to defend and benefit from evil acts, establishing a case as 'different type', 'other side of the story', 'truth is relative' and so on.

A Bangladeshi moneyed man who was arrested for human trafficking and being prosecuted for months, was jailed in Kuwait last week but at home he still remains a member of parliament. The Transparency International's new index showing rise in corruption in Bangladesh is hardly surprise.

Guilty of plagiarism, three Dhaka University teachers were just demoted as the university Syndicate refrained from applying the 1973 order which keeps provision for termination of services in case of "moral turpitude". Not apologetic, not even making an excuse, advocates of all such acts are out to present 'alternative facts'.

Discreet minds can't, however, forget that some public servants managed to retain their jobs in spite of their doctoring of certificates of freedom fighters to gain special privilege. Their successors further developed daring attitude towards voters, who pay tax for their salaries and other benefits, as reflected in a series of real-life dramas!

This world, as we've learned by this time, has left enough scope to mix truth with falsehood. Maybe, vulgar actors have become architects of such a world! Hypocrisy, which commoners hated in the past, is unleashed as 'pubic good' for rampant consumption monetised not just by the old stakeholders.

So, most readers and listeners no more love to capture connotation of some of the stronger words such as embezzlement, tax evasion, money laundering, extrajudicial killing, mafia, culture of impunity, cyber threat, fake news, scam, shame, compromise, conspiracy and treason for their wholesale ineffectiveness.

Though confused, the masses can't demand fair-play or social justice. It's not that clarity of each issue is absent; rather courage is defeated allowing the number, not the thinking mind, to increase day by day.

How a full-time Dhaka University faculty serves a television station as a full-time news anchor had not been questioned publicly until recently. S/he is supposed to spend hours in preparing for classes, evaluating students, and writing papers and articles and doing research.

If a bureaucrat, a physician or a journalist is preoccupied with a number of jobs, the person is simply unable to perform the main duties honestly and efficiently.

Society has failed to ask how a section of people lives much beyond its means. The greater number thus accepts the de facto realities no matter how individuals face stresses and strains every day.

If a schoolgirl asks when the country will be safe for her free movement, an answer to the point is not available to her teachers and families. Social leaders can't assure a juvenile if s/he would soon be able to access quality education at a university and choose his/her career.

'Authoritative' people stand ready to blame anything suitable, except his/her duty and responsibility, for the unwanted situation in any sector. Even those, who are supposed to offer an alternative paradigm, fall short of speaking directly to the audience, let alone doing what history requires them to do.

Aung San Suu Kyi took the easy path of appeasing Myanmar's powerful military, going to the extent of defending internationally its genocide of the Rohingya. Once she lost her image of a leader of democracy, it became easier for her nemesis to ensure her exit from the scene.

What frustrated pundits call post-truth era isn't the only truth in the world where people are judged by their own words and destined by karmas.

 

khawaza@gmail.com

 

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