Punishing the Punctual
There is a lot of
big talk about reforms. The tendency
is to go for the big hit. Thus, the
sweeping rhetoric about reforms, governance,
accountability and development.
But the core issue simply may be getting
some of the basics right, like being
on time and keeping commitments.
People take their cues from the top.
When the upper echelon is tardy, the
lower-ranks follow suit. The great historian
and philosopher Ibn Khaldun pointed
out that people tend to copy and emulate
the dominant classes.
Lahore at this time is awash in weddings
-- a good occasion to parade punctuality
or the lack thereof. Veteran wedding
attendees will vouch for how the punctual
are punished and the latecomers rewarded.
It is facile and disingenuous to throw
up one’s hands and attribute being
tardy to ingrained cultural traits beyond
anyone’s control. It is a passive
resignation which is an alibi for not
dong anything and a surrender before
the juggernaut of a passive culture.
The same VIPs who are both rude and
late at social events are often the
picture of politeness and punctuality
when it is the President who has called
them. This raises the question of how
much being unpunctual is a matter of
choice versus fixed habitual behavior.
To believe that unpunctuality is a cultural
trait beyond change is an excuse for
not taking action. Culture is undeniably
a factor but it is surmountable.
And if tardiness is a cultural practice,
it is a practice that needs to be attacked.
For punctuality is an important determinant
of an individual’s and a nation’s
progress and growth. Simply put, chronic
unfaithfulness to appointments is dishonesty
and is reflective of character. When
it permeates society, the damage done
can be incalculable.
Attitudes towards punctuality affect
interactions at school, home, office
and social gatherings. Tardiness is
there because it is easier, while keeping
commitments requires an extra effort.
And there is a presumption that no one
really cares or is offended.
In Pakistan there is often a huge gap
between the announced time and the intended
time. Half an hour is reasonable. Two
hours is not. Those who take the announced
time literally suffer, much to the amusement
of their peers. It has yet to be adequately
recognized that achievement, success
and responsibility are linked to coordination
within a timeframe work.
There is also a hidden dimension. Where
fortunes have been built through political
patronage and cronyism, there is little
incentive in observing the values of
honor, merit and keeping promises.
For a nation and people to progress,
an indispensable feature is respect
for time. It implies consideration,
discipline, self-respect and character.
An individual has the choice between
being unpunctual and being punctual.
It is a choice between progress and
decay.
