The Fountain Magazine

 

Mental Pollution
By Mowahid Hussain Shah

Nineteen years ago, I was at the inauguration of the Environmental Law Centre – on the Punjab University campus – which was generously endowed by eminent lawyer/philanthropist Dr Parvez Hassan. After tilawat, the maulvi urged that equal attention be paid to the stain of mental pollution that spreads across society.

The infected public environment today is reminiscent of that warning. New platforms and tools have not necessarily contributed to development of mind. Low mentality has followed higher facility.

Between ideals and realities there is a gap. There is also a bright line between being literate and being educated, although both terms are often intermingled. The so-called “educated” are often the worst offenders. They can augment the forces of organized hate that fuel hostility and futility.

There is overabundance of toxic tongues and pens dipped in venom. A huge platform has been made available to hurl abuse, settle scores, and vent private agendas through personal attacks wherein accusations are presented and assumed as facts. Have the accusers a track record of taking risks for causes bigger than themselves?

In a climate of calumny, the imperative of having correct information is often overtaken by the rush to sensationalize and twist. Smears, slurs, rumors, and conspiracy theories are loosely thrown around. Loud and clear is the message that integrity doesn’t matter. The old saying goes: “I’ve made up my mind; don’t confuse me with the facts.”

In the digital era of instant communication, etiquette has eroded, and decorum has declined. What gets sowed is discord/fitna. The existing political culture is steeped in intellectual laziness in that one gets to see overpraise on one hand, and vicious attacks on the other hand. Society has done a poor job in instilling that the better course is to assail policies and not the person.

What counters libel and slander is enforcement of strong tort laws – to date an ineffective legal remedy in Pakistan. The intemperate tone of the judiciary itself is magnifying optics of it being a partisan tool, with debilitating implications for national cohesion. There is a compelling overall need for upgrading quality legal education/ethics along with setting up of established safeguard protocols.

A society where it is taught that deception and lying is OK is unlikely to move forward. Such is the all-consuming weightage of politicking that even ordinary conversations morph into dogfights and shouting matches, with social conviviality thrown out of the window.

The partisan condemnatory tone dominating discussions has left few sectors untouched, including but not limited to, judiciary, clergy, academia, and civil society.

Examples at the top are not very reassuring. Tearing down each other creates a smokescreen, which deflects the tackling of pivotal issues of security and governance.

Media-exaggerated negativity has sharpened political tribalism and the politics of targeted personal destruction.

Once in a while, it may be refreshing and chastening for the finger-pointers to take a good self-look. One under-estimated roadblock is the unwillingness to hear. Can one learn without listening?

It is one thing to give hope, another to give results. Presumed leaders are sometimes destroyers.

Inaction is not one of the mistakes the nation can afford.