Throughout their existence on Earth, humans have organised themselves into different social structures. The inherent needs crucial for survival and the necessity of cooperation for their accomplishment motivated humans to engage in and evolve societies. However, the transformation of a crowd into an ordered society and the collaborative fulfillment of human needs demand predictability in mass behaviour. This predictability is primarily established through the evolution and promulgation of laws in the name of social control. Effective enforcement of laws has the potential to transform an animalistic human nature into a humane one and cement a crowd into a society. Societies that adhere to their established norms achieve distinctively prosperous status. However, those who disregard or manipulate original laws for selfish ends suffer immeasurable losses, and unfortunately, ours is one such society. The existing social plight testifies to this.
The social and mainstream media overflow with praise for so-called democrats, messiahs, altruistic politicians, intellectuals, pious clergy, humanistic healthcare professionals, right groups, civil society and social activists. But despite so many laws and so many people lauded as pious, our society is teetering on the brink of collapse. Why is it that all the norms of morality, humanism and social order that have evolved over centuries have failed to fulfil their intended objectives in our society? This is mainly because we have been considerably successful in manipulating and distorting them for our own interests. This way, all the canons of laws have hardly led to any positive change; instead, we have twisted them into their uglier forms.
As humans, we have become a liability to the hard-earned legacies of humanism, morality and harmonious coexistence. Though most of us wear cloaks of consciousness, honesty, truthfulness, piety, and empathy, beneath these façades lie pure hypocrisy, duplicity and ugliness. Gone are the days when our selfish interests were threatened by norms and values. Now it appears the other way around. Peace seems threatened more by the peacemakers than warmongers; religion by the clergy than the commoners; justice by jurists than outlaws; health by medicos than pathogens; defence by defenders than security risks; and education by educators than ignorant.
Similarly, intellect seems to be frightened more by intelligentsia than naivety; truth is more from the media and writers than fallacies; democracy more from its champions than its detractors; and transparency more from its watchdogs than the corrupt. People are betrayed more by friends than enemies; politics more by politicians than apolitical; and human rights more by its defenders than deserters.
Manipulating the very essence and the practice of established laws in a selfish manner has had more serious repercussions than abolishing them altogether. This is because a society ultimately collapses only to revive something new and better in the latter case, while it endures at the cost of its well-being in the former. Our insistence on adulterated norms and practices has produced an environment where one thrives on their misdeeds more than good ones. This way, our lives are shaped by the wrongdoings of our own and others, giving everyone confidence to exploit society for personal gains with impunity.
Thereafter, our past misdeeds control the rest of our lives more than the laws do. Each other’s misdeeds also control each other’s lives. This is because the powerful quarter has enticed almost everyone into this system of wrongdoing. By so doing, they have validated their actions and almost exonerated themselves from the kleptocracy they have engaged themselves in for decades now. Those who tend to defy the forces of the status quo or seek to break free from this vicious cycle are reminded of their past misdeeds. Those who’re immune from wrongdoing suffer the worst for defying the system altogether. The debate, therefore, is not about who is more honest or pious, but who is less corrupt and hypocritical.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2023.
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