Daily Times

Motivational and inspirational confidence exhibited by leaders in any field not only allows them to undertake challenging tasks but also enables their followers to give their best performance. Confidence, however, must never be confused with arrogance. Any egotistical conduct of a leader can seriously damage emotions and sentiments of those who bear it, besides portraying negative image of the leader. Destruction of the absolutely indispensable relationships a leader has with other team members is never a good idea. According to a scholar Dr. Mary Kelly, people have no desire to follow an arrogant leader. Leaders have to manage the tension between pride and arrogance. Professor Emeritus James Heskett, of Harvard University, is of the view that Pride is an attractive trait among members of an organization; arrogance is not.

The proud contempt of others with the manifestation of a feeling of superiority of one’s worth or importance; known as arrogantia in Latin, arrogance in old French and contemporary English is also referred to as Narcissism in Psychology. There are two types of narcissism namely Vulnerable and Grandiose. A person is Vulnerable narcissist if arrogance is used to compensate for one’s insecurity. A Grandiose narcissist really believes to be as perfect as is shown. Chutzpah cannot be detected by pathology laboratory but its pervasiveness in cultures, societies, politics and varied professions cannot be disputed.

An authority on Communication Studies, Prof. Preston Ni, found that in the modern age, sociopaths and psychopaths are usually not the mass murderers as portrayed in popular media (with exceptions).Instead, current sociopaths and psychopaths may outwardly appear functional and successful. They instigate abuse and harm that is oftensly, sinister and subtle. The seven characteristics of the Modern Psychopath includes; Pathological Lying and Manipulation, lack of Morality and Rule Breaking, Lack of Empathy and Cold-Heartedness, Narcissism and False Superiority Complex, Gaslighting and Psychological Bullying, Lack of Remorse and Self-Serving Victimhood. The “Situational” Sociopath is most ruthless of all as Situational sociopathy or psychopathy contributes to many unwarranted conditions, such as misogyny, class bigotry, racism, homophobia, religious intolerance, extreme poverty and structural violence in society. These unjustifiable conditions, rather disorders, at times sanctioned by policies and laws or absence of both, are booming in our country .

Mephitic impudence, that I sensed, in my internal and external environs, be it academia or other formal setups since my younger days, did not recede with time and rise of technology. Instead, media and new age media is exposing its unedited version, too instantly. Campus clashes culminating in the murders of students (who are usually hostilities from poor families and or from far flung areas), vandalism, weaponization and politicization of colleges and universities in the guise of student politics with and without student unions, are not new to us. Many who blatantly misuse young students for their vested interests, are towering in our heartless mainstream politics. Quite intelligent and informed people still express their disbelief on many incidences depicting injustice, two-facedness and vehemence. One wonders if one can dare to face the inconvenient truth? Let’s start with relatively safer queries; Who becomes a primary school teacher here? How highly capable teachers, even in universities are treated here? What is the merit for getting an admission to a law college? What is the trajectory of the majority of medical doctors here? Parents do not mind applying all types of unfairness to see their children” shining” in academics. Getting into any elite institution is a critical yardstick of success in life. However, the outcome matters. All Medical students are very often considered cream of the society. The truth is that not all have an immaculate route in obtaining a degree in medicine ( even getting into a medical college). When one becomes a doctor through cheating and political backing, why public should complaint of medical negligence? The purpose of raising such questions is not to blame any particular profession but to look inwards and attempt some soul searching.

Be it the Arrogance of Patriotism, Power or Piety, all of us are being driven by an unlimited volume of arrogance of one or another brand. Nearly all admirable personalities and their real faces are exposed now

One needs to be honest with oneself to get correct answers. Pick any sector, profession, workplace and use the 7 characteristics stated above as a touchstone. If one does not want to buy in this kind of research based facts, one can recall four haunting images ;1) expressions on the face of three kids of Sahiwal who saw their parents, uncle and sister killed by “unknown” and the expression on the face of their uncle after court’s decision 2) Salahuddin- the mentally impaired person (from conventional parameters), who was “allegedly” killed while in police custody 3)picture of the kid of slained Naqibullah Mehsud looking at the coffin of his grandfather Muhammad Khan and 4) picture of 4-year old Jannat, raped, thrown in a well where she remained for four days ,found alive and then died in the hospital. I still wonder, why these images do not trigger our civil society? Why is there no non-stop show of disapproval and disappointment by a critical mass of peaceful people? Why these and other similar images did not and do not give sleepless nights to our politicians? I am neither a naïve nor a frail hearted person. With different hats, I become familiar with ironies of life like cases of incest, young girls impregnated by their Mehrams, survivors of rape cases, acid attacks, domestic and dowry violence, etc. disintegration of lives by natural disasters and so on and so forth. Together with eternal optimists I too, kept on trying to work towards a better, not bitter society .After 27, plus years of intensive experience I have to admit that a society where violence and selective amnesia has a normative status and where abusive power is respected can never be reformed.

A sincere (not sarcastic )gratitude to all those young lawyers (who took off oxygen mask from a patient, interrupted patients care and destroyed expensive equipment and lifesaving machines-as per video clips and footages at PUNJAB INSTITUTE OF CARDIOLOGY,LAHORE,PUNJAB on 11 December 2019) for helping me in reexamining the nude realties of us as a nation. That “episode” ( not using any adjective like barbarousetc.) finally gave me the courage to deny my own denial and confirm my diagnosis. Yes, my worst suspicion is being validated- ours is a society dominated by modern age sociopaths and psychopaths. Be it the Arrogance of Patriotism, Power or Piety, all of us are being driven by an unlimited volume of arrogance of one or another brand. Nearly all admirable personalities and their real faces are exposed now. Many idols are effectively smashed and a collective conviction in many intellectuals and reverent ones is rumpled. Clay feet were never so obvious and common.

The writer tweets at rakhshinda_dr.