Many citizens have asked whether its appropriate, ethical for politicians, govt officials to display their narcissism
KARACHI: Narcissism is the pursuit of gratification from vanity or egotistic admiration of one’s own attributes. The term originated from Greek mythology, when the young Narcissus fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. People exhibiting superiority, arrogance, self-admiration and entitlement are considered to be suffering from this tendency — which, in its extreme form, could also be termed Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
A display of narcissism may be an individual’s own problem. But to repeatedly indulge in this obsession at the taxpayers’ expense is a matter of public concern. Consider the advertisement on National ‘Women’ (sic) Day that was carried by many newspapers on February 12. The half-page ad is loaded with 12 photographs — four of one family, one of the chief minister, six of a minister and one of the secretary of the department of women development. This beats the previous record when newspapers carried a similar advertisement showing eight photographs — four of one family, one of the chief minister, two of the minister and one of the secretary. Many citizens have asked whether it is appropriate and ethical for politicians and government officials to display their narcissism by engaging the taxpayers’ money. After all, they are rich enough to comfortably fulfill their obsession for seeking glory by sponsoring such advertisements from their own pockets.
This is also a moment of introspection for newspapers. Should newspapers carry an advertisement knowing fully well that it involves blatant misuse of state resources? Is ‘happening for decades’ a good argument to continue with this distasteful and unethical practice. As a citizen, I am greatly concerned at this accelerating trend of ‘personal publicity at state expense’. I request all newspapers to please not to carry any advertisement that is paid out of government funds and includes pictures of politicians or state officials.
Naeem Sadiq
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2015.
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