Love at first sight

Have you ever had the experience of falling in love at first sight? Indeed, such an encounter always has a mythical and mystical quality to it. It’s the loss of control over one’s normal state of mind; it is an absolute emotional condition without rationality with overcharged hormones, a phase of semi-madness as the human condition submits to blind emotions at moments of randomness. It strikes without warning and virtually ravages the victim’s sense of rationality — sometimes for a considerable period of time in a state of emotional helplessness.

Interestingly, this human condition has a political dimension as well. With a new body of knowledge on political behaviour and psychology, we are discovering diverse elements that affect a person’s political beliefs and the factors that cause them. One of the rather ignored areas is how “physical appearance” moulds our political affiliations and its relations to an unconscious process in the selection of a political leadership.

This proposition, on the face of it, sounds illogical — but take a moment to reflect on the human psyche, both male and female; the fact is that physical appearance matters a lot. Humans, generally speaking, react to “looks” with a far greater emotional response than we are consciously aware of. Slowly the realisation of this factor is gaining recognition in business circles around the globe. For example, in the Western multinational corporate world, a new trend in the recruitment of young professionals is the importance being given to “physical appearance” — “good looks” is sometimes preferred over professional training and relevant educational credentials.

This emotional response to “looks” has been in the arena of politics for a long time. Let us look at some recent history in this respect: Think about Jacqueline Kennedy beside the late US president John F Kennedy, and how they made a handsome couple besieging the American mind and soul emotionally. Eva Peron and her strikingly handsome husband in military uniform captured Argentinian hearts for a considerable period of time — but without much appreciable political advancement for Argentina. Even in 2008 when John McCain, the Republican US presidential candidate, selected Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, it could only be attributed to her looks because, in terms of experience and knowledge, Palin had nothing to offer.

In Pakistan, Ayub Khan, the debonair general in military uniform, accompanied by his strikingly beautiful daughter, won the hearts of Pakistanis and overseas audiences. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with his revolutionary persona and rhetoric, was helped by his “rebellious looks” to gain a massive following amongst the masses. Compared to her father, Benazir Bhutto was non-revolutionary, power-hungry and carried the heavy political baggage of a husband accused of questionable credentials. And yet, Benazir, with her striking looks and personality, was able to muster a massive public following.

Looking from a political psychology perspectives, there are three fundamental elements in the “love at first sight” and the “politics of appearance” in Pakistan. First, fair skin and striking physical features. Second, a celebrity status linked to kinship. Third, an ability to manipulate emotional and symbolic rhetoric effectively.

In the context of historical argument, it should be remembered that the European colonists in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world were fair-skinned and considered their physical appearance far more attractive than their native subjects, and hence imagined themselves as superior to the natives. At present, the right-wing political movements of Western Europe and Donald Trump’s America are vehemently opposed to allowing immigration of dark-skinned ethnic groups — for they believe white skin is superior. The emphasis on “fair complexion is better” in countries like Pakistan and India is a psychological extension of the colonists’ mind.

Now we come to an important question in the context of this discussion: is Maryam Nawaz, heir apparent to Nawaz Sharif, planning to cash in politically on “love at first sight” and the “politics of appearance?”

Indeed, she qualifies with good looks and fair skin. In ruling elite circles where the air of superiority is maintained, this “fair and lovely” attribute provides self-legitimacy to their positions of power in a society. From a political psychology vantage point, Maryam Nawaz might consider her legitimacy to power from this specific psychological orientation.

In addition, Maryam might also imagine that her celebrity status stems from the genetic connection through her father, Nawaz Sharif, by virtue of a hereditary transfer of political capabilities placing her above all other contenders in the ongoing struggle for political power in the country. As such, she might be thinking that her political role in the country is ordained by celestial forces from heaven. This notion might convince Maryam to believe in her superiority over all other political actors.

An even more important question for the Pakistani masses, political activists in the country, and common party members of the PML-N: are you going to let Maryam bet on physical appearance, kinship and celebrity status to win over people, votes and national dominance?

There is a need to analyze her persona as a “political being” with detached, unemotional level-headedness, keeping the semi-madness and loss of rationality associated with “love at first sight” and the “politics of appearance” at bay. The stakes are very high for this nation’s future — we are at a crossroads where a flawed political decision could have disastrous impacts on the future of this country and it future generations.

Politically speaking, Maryam has the ability to deliver emotionally-loaded symbolic political rhetoric, but she espouses anti-democratic, pro-status quo, ultra-right-wing, reactionary political thought and ideology. Her formal education is certainly inadequate in the sense of her conceptualisation of political thought and political management expertise. Her views on the democratic state are mingled with unimaginative drawbacks and flaws which are incompatible with democratic principles, values and objectives. Maryam, in an age of democratic enlightenment, is unfortunately, unaware of the moral-ethical dimensions of democracy as a system of governance and state ideology.

Let’s hope that Pakistani citizens will not accept a déjà vu of Nawaz Sharif’s political debacle. Let’s hope they understand that the father-daughter political enterprise is aimed at restoring a highly personalised political structure for Pakistan: “…such moral expediency in pursuit of hazily defined and short-term goals is a recipe for brutally corrupting the very foundations of the principles of democracy.”

What Maryam has to realise is that the Sharif clan’s concept of politics as an art of winning the game by foul and flawed means has become irrelevant and outdated for contemporary Pakistan. Indeed, the proverbial saying, “love at first sight” will continue to somewhat dominate the human emotional condition for a long time — but let’s hope its political application is nearly doomed!

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2017.

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