It is not the nature of man to accept criticism from anyone; everyone is born a know it all and free advice is abhorred universally. Recalling yesteryears, this was definitely not the norm, there used to be discussions and debates, albeit cordial and mannered, and there was never any shame in admitting to being wrong. Compared to that, views and opinions today, which in the first place are not formulated through intellectual pursuits but depend entirely upon the channel or anchor ardently followed, are defended vigorously with passions that verge on abject stupidity. Debate has become a superfluous word and has been substituted by a form of art best described as dispute.
This transformation of debate into dispute, with every potential to escalate into a fist fight or even more at the drop of a hat, has inhibited the faint hearted from expressing any views and has made introverts of the vast majority. The logic is simple: smiling and turning the other cheek is always far better than banging the cerebellum against a wall and screaming, “What the fish!” The editor should not have a problem with this four letter word starting with an f!
Unfortunately, this malady has acquired endemic proportions, polarising the populace into various camps, all lacking intellectual depth or the aptitude to debate and this cannot be good for Pakistan. The knowledge on the air, if there is any at all, is corrupted to the core by emotional undercurrents, with everybody finding it easier to nod and ignore rather than sharing their views or patiently listening to another. Of course, on the other hand, the vast majority still flops down in front of the television after a hard day at work and are vulnerable enough to believe all the noise coming out of that infernal box. That is the very reason why this particular window of time is referred to by the showbiz pundits as prime time: maximum access with the ease of maximum penetration. And this is where things get confusing.
Smart people, when constructing their homes will never accept advice from a medical doctor on concrete mixing. Faced with a pain in the chest, retired military personnel will definitely not be the first choice to consult with. Faced with a sampling plumbing problem, a former newscasters recommendations, irrespective of how loudly they are screamed, will not matter. So why, when it comes to running the country, are the views and opinions floated on television are deemed sacrosanct and accepted to be true without any verification, irrespective of the complexity of the issue and the capability of whichever Tom, Dick or Harriet uttered them. Television is indeed magical.
All of this begs the question, what exactly are the qualifications of all these anchors and analysts frequenting the idiot box regularly and giving disparaging comments on everything from the abnormal to the mundane, from politics to economics and everything else under the sun? Perhaps fear of this very question is exactly why none of the celebrity anchors and analysts created much of a ruckus when the parliamentarians were absolved of showing their graduation degrees. After all, there is strength in unity.
But the situation is much worse than that. Almost everyone is convinced that they are gifted. Realistically, no one in their right mind will claim to have technical knowhow outside their own profession and will loathe giving any views on unrelated subjects but everybody becomes an Einstein when it comes to discussions on how the country should be run. Even worse, everyone believes he is blessed with a brilliant mind when it comes to discussion on the national economy and do not even get people started on strategic defence, everyone believes to have surpassed Sun Tzu in the art of war.
Is there a problem with a fragmented, know-it-all society? Well apparently not, since the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is supposed to take care of everything. China is the only country in the world that was willing to lend us $ 46 billion in one go and has agreed to provide Pakistan with cheap electricity, builds road and railways and to profitably operate Gwadar port, which will benefit Pakistan’s economy and spur growth. Frankly, I do not even have the energy to start a debate on this premise. Let everyone base their views on hearsay on the television and according to their own level of knowledge, except that getting knowledge is quite different from buying a car. But is even knowledge enough, in the absence of wisdom?
A while ago, I wrote a series of articles on profit in a business publication, 26 in all. The conclusion, based on months of brainstorming, was that profit making cannot be taught. Simply because the teachers, if they were actually profit-makers, would not waste time or want to foster competition by teaching this art. It was also concluded that profit-making is not a hereditary characteristic since it is not necessary that the subsequent generations be as competent as the patriarch of the business empire. In the end, the final conclusion was that profit-making is a gift and people are born with it. Extrapolating this analysis to wisdom, the short conclusion is that while anyone can gain knowledge, opinions formed therefrom are personal and wisdom cannot be taught. As Plato aptly articulated by in Meno, from the discourse of Socrates on wise men, “That’s why they couldn’t turn other people into sort of men they were themselves — because it wasn’t knowledge that made them the way we were”.
If wisdom cannot be taught, then debate needs to be revived and the patience to listen to opposing views can perhaps be inculcated into the populace. A condition for debate is the existence of differing views, since everyone agreeing with a premise is hardly a debate. So the bad news is that talk shows are a necessary evil but there is a necessity to broaden their scope to included dissenters and to listen to them patiently. Being opposed to democracy is not a sin, metros can be beneficial or vice versa and the CPEC can be an opportunity or a threat. The point is, as they say, even a broken clock can tell the right time twice a day. So, there is no harm in listening, if the objective is indeed wisdom!
The writer is a chartered accountant based in Islamabad. He can be reached at [email protected] and on twitter @leaccountant