There is perversity in public life where those with integrity, value and sincerity do not receive public recognition
OXFORD, UK: I am writing in support of Amin Jan Naim’s article ‘Some gleanings from Plato’s Gorgias’ published in this newspaper on September 15th.
I have long thought that there is perversity in public life where those with integrity, value and sincerity do not receive public recognition or honour. However, I’ve observed that the ones who are rewarded are very often the less deserving: the pushy, the ambitious, and the narcissistic. Recently it was revealed in the British press, that people who positively reviewed books did so with the expectation that the compliment would be reciprocated, regardless of the quality of the work being reviewed. And the acclamations on book covers, it turns out, are often written without any knowledge of the content!
On a more optimistic note, to quote Amin Jan Naim quoting Plato: ‘true power is that which aims at the good’, and ‘we often see today individual examples of rare persons who fight for principles instead of succumbing to baseness’. Imposters’ fame is transitory, so if you have to startle, startle with virtue.
Julia
Published in The Express Tribune, September 18th, 2018.
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