“How oft, in nations gone corrupt, And by their own devices brought down to servitude, That man chooses bondage before liberty. Bondage with ease before strenuous liberty” — John Milton Notwithstanding the little that I may have read, heard, seen, observed and researched in time, I must confess that I have never been witness to such gruesome manifestations of unmitigated collapse of a people that I am now beholding right here, in front of my moist eyes. It is stuff worth a million shocking stories. I see a government, supposedly of the people, extending unrepentant protocol to a disqualified former prime minister that any self-respecting person would be ashamed of. I see bilious cohorts of the ruling mafia crafting reasons to justify unimaginable magnitude of corruption that godfather has been guilty of, and for which he and his family members are being tried in courts of law. The institutions of the state are conniving remorselessly with the criminals in defiance of their own norms, rules and regulations. The beneficiaries of putrid misdemeanours are painting doomsday scenarios of unseen powers planning to take over. The bootleggers of the ruling mafia are burning midnight oil in their vile attempts to provoke inter- and intra-institution rivalry to generate an environment of confrontation, thus increasing their chances of manoeuvring through the resultant debris. Forces of evil are on the rampage, agitating the rumour mills in an effort to drown the truth from gaining currency and the untrue holding sway. But those who suffer because of these vile contraptions and machinations have remained numb. The space of inaction thus created is the playground of the inveterate exploiters who continue to flourish. Enhanced awareness has not been a motivation to act. It is only fodder to sleep on and look for salvation from above In the words of Stefan Molyneux, “deep pockets and empty hearts rule the world. We unleash them at our peril”. What has brought about this infinite depravity? Where did we go wrong? But, then, the guilty are loath to concede that they can ever be wrong. They remain paragons of virtue, crafted in spare time by the Almighty Himself. Actually, arrayed in that mindset are the crowning reasons which have rendered us egocentric to an extent that we accept no responsibility for the moral, social and administrative disintegration that has driven us hollow. Let’s get to the fundamentals. Do we even know the nature and magnitude of what ails us and the possible consequences it will wreak? I also know that those who realise this and are also cognisant of their unwillingness or inability to correct this mammoth malfunction of the society, don’t look forward to staying here either to face its consequences. A couple of years ago, I asked my son, who lives in London, to start thinking of coming back. His response was immediate. “I will, papa, if you give me one guarantee”. “And, what is that”, I asked? “Will you ensure that I am dealt with on merit”, he queried? My response: “Stay here”. That’s the way it has been. But there are millions and millions who don’t have an option but continue living here. What of them, what of their future, and that of the future of their coming generations? Those who have lived here, and those who have moved abroad, have all contributed to this systematic degradation that we have wrought upon ourselves. We have done so because we don’t realise what sapling had we planted, and the nightmarish bounty that, over time, it has yielded. But, we are seldom pushed. We live in a haze. Driven by our religiosity, we continue to believe that we are helpless. It’s of God’s making, and only He can correct it. In thinking that way, we free ourselves of any burden for the humiliating morass that we are enveloped in, and which continues to grow further through our contagious inaction. Let’s cast a cursory glance around at the manifestations of this shame that we try to hide so artfully, but it continues to play through in monotonous cyclic motion. We see proven criminals flaunting their innocence. We see convicts displaying the victory sign in defiance of their crime and the court’s verdict. We question the institutions’ right to punish us. We raise the demons of unseen powers intervening. We contrive conspiracies. We behave like we were above law which is only meant for the poor and the sundry. We indulge in practising a system built on exploitation of the poor and the underprivileged, and we are adamant that it is the best we can have. We see a rapid expansion of the tribe of partners-in-crime who hold the system hostage. Corruption is justified and sickness feigned to escape accountability. But, most gruesome of all is the reality that morality benchmarks have been lowered below the minimal subsistence levels. But those who suffer because of these vile contraptions and machinations have remained numb. The space of inaction thus created is the playground of the inveterate exploiters who continue to flourish. Enhanced awareness has not been a motivation to act. It is only fodder to sleep on and look for salvation from above. That is not coming. That will not come. The economic, social and religious captivity will enhance with time as we continue wearing this mantle as our crowning glory. T S Eliot wraps this state in his classic attire of words: “We have lingered in the chambers of the sea By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown Till human voices wake us, and we drown.” Are we nearing the end, or are we already there? Either way, it should evoke serious thinking. Why did we bring it upon us? Why can’t we resist the onslaught of crime and oppression clad in the deceptive apparel of democracy? Why can’t we stand up for our rights? What is it that stops us from taking that one critical step forward? What is the fear that we remain entrapped in? What is it that can happen to us now which has not already happened? May be, inadvertently, we have allowed this paralysis to take a hold of us. But, standing up against this depravity is a right that no one can take from us. It is also the only possible course to redemption. A self-respecting people can’t remain enslaved in tentacles of degeneration, yet pretending to be living. There is no salvation in bondage. The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute — an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: @RaoofHasan Published in Daily Times, November 7th 2017.