Daily Times

Not very long ago, we were subjected to two sermons each night from a cleric-cum-reformer and a green politician-cum-former cricketer. Both were enjoying the prime time slot on the idiot box and those who yak for a living on that box were crying hoarse over the “revolutionary change” that these puppets of the invisible masters were about to bring. The tube and rags were going bonkers fabricating and splashing the whole episode across the electronic and print media. The suspense that was created by the hysteria every night by all and sundry was comical. The deadlines changed from days to hours and then to days again. The blatant lies spewed by these two characters, transmitted to the entire world by the idiot box, along with the fear of intervention from not so neutral umpires, were quite a treat for the dense. We were given the rhetoric of religion and cricket along with live entertainment at the make believe Tahrir Square of Pakistan. The youth had supposedly awakened to the beat of patriotic and party songs, and had decided to alter the course of this otherwise sorry nation.
Then came a twist and the senior reformer decided to wrap his circus up with a bit of customary noise, although he had made tall claims that he had brought everything, including his books and hosiery, from his adopted land back for good. Politics is certainty not meant for those who set imaginary bars for themselves; it is a ruthless game of reality. So, the folding of the rent-a-revolution dented the loud-mouthed juvenile politico as well. Even though he kept denying it, he knew that he had truly blundered by going along with the plan. This out of touch armchair analyst turned scribe gave readers a straightforward, no nonsense commentary of the follies that were unfolding in front of the entire world. The critics ridiculed the thought process of this observer because they rightly felt that someone who has not set foot in the epicentre of this historical revolution cannot make such outlandish assessments from a few continents away. An analysis or observation is based on facts, patterns and probable outcomes. One does not need to be on the home turf in this day and electronic age to predict any likely outcomes.
Then came a dark day in December when the cornered, besieged and out of steam politico used the excuse of the massacre of children to accept his blunder and embrace his retreat. The poor children had to pay with their dear lives to force the rather dim and utterly stubborn politico to come to terms with the harsh reality. The painful exit came from the skies and the tsunami turned into a whimper. The comical hashtags that once floated and trended in the virtual world fizzled in no time. As they say, a novice needs a lot of practice before becoming a pro. If the retreat was truly for the sake of the slain children, why has the unlucky captain not done anything to bring solace and comfort to the grieving families until today? The Assembly that was the abode of ‘thieves, dacoits and looters’, recently witnessed the re-entry of these ‘clean as a whistle’ politicos. The reason for this about face re-entry was a Middle Eastern country called Yemen. For crying out loud, a lot more has happened in the last eight months or so, which was far more important than Yemen.
The soundbites hogging the air waves about this retreat are “judicial commission” and “resignations were still pending”. In reality, this is face saving for the naïve politico who had demanded the sun, moon and stars. Too bad that he has to settle for just the promise of an inquiry. The take away for those who were huffing and puffing in the days of the revolutionary sit-ins is to never overpromise. Because, no matter which way you spin it, when you are unable to deliver, even the most committed worker and voter takes notice. It is a game of words after all and words matter. If you have to constantly backpedal and retreat from your words and positions, your credibility suffers. The die hard and equally dim followers use the excuse that their opponents are seasoned, dynastical and often call them conniving and vicious. All I can say to those dense people is that you can only choose your associates. You can never select your opponents. Opponents come in every shape, form and size. The dialogue of changing the status quo sounds quite appealing but when you have to confront your own follies that actually facilitate the so-called status quo, it is quite an eye opener. The take away for the former skipper is that swinging a bat or throwing a ball in any direction is a lot easier than standing in front of a crowd and saying things that add up and pan out when the time comes.

The writer is a Pakistani-US mortgage banker. He blogs at http://dasghar.blogspot.com and can be reached at dasghar@aol.com. He tweets at http://twitter.com/dasghar