- Ours is a history rife with saviors and messiahs, failing us one after the other
For those who haven’t read Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’, let me summarize the play as best as I can. It is a tale of boredom incarnate where Vladimir and Estragon wait for an entity named Godot. Master Godot, however, has other plans and is not zealous enough to grace the duo with a visit. Godot, who never shows up perpetuates hope in the futility-filled, dull lives of Vladimir and Estragon as they keep on living and longing for someone who will save them and offer them something that will end the circle they are condemned to. They both believe that Godot will sort their existences out, not in bits and pieces, but in entirety. In a nutshell, Vladimir and Estragon thought that Godot-The Wise will unknot all that is twisted and tangled.
We are a nation of Vladimirs and Estragons. And we all await our favourite Godots. Need I remind you; we have a very long and varied history with them. Most of them were a corrupt, idiotic bunch that plundered our lot and proved to be zilch but ‘false’ Godots who delivered nothing.
Then there were military dictators who delivered what they promised and also threw in what they didn’t. During their sway the economy boomed (Google it if in doubt) and the corruption was banished from all walks of life (no need to Google this, take my word for it).
The Godot Ayub was tall, dark and handsome enough that even JFK envied him who realized in time that friends should not be masters or vice versa. Godot Yahya, well; it isn’t fair and judicious to be critical of so short a reign. Godot Zia, the third Godot brought down the empire of Communism with all its vodka and ‘warm water’ designs. He crippled the commies before being ‘whooshed’ in mid-air by everybody-knows-who.
We, the gallant people of Pakistan, yearn for Godots like a chain smoker craves for a second cigarette even before finishing the first one. Resultantly, when we get our desired Godot and since familiarity breeds contempt, we finish him and start hankering after another.
Enough playful banter; before embarking on the journey of improving all that ails our society; it is about time that we admit one thing about ourselves.
We are eternally-bored folks. Our never-ending boredom calls for continuous spectacle be made of our Godots, sooner rather than later. We like them, be them chosen or those who came without asking first, to be humiliated, hanged, executed or assassinated.
Our ennui-dictated attitude with the one in power is ravenous and unforgivable as we want to build Rome, Lahore, Kot Addu, Mianwali, Sukkur, Nowshera, Kala Bagh Dam, universities in every tehsil, hospitals in every village and English medium schools for every fifty households in a single day.
Democracy, let us never forget, is a system of government that promises a scheme which relies on perpetuity of policies rather than ample charisma of personalities. No matter how mighty the leader, democracy is more colossal, more enduring than that person. Churchill died, Lincoln got assassinated, JFK was shot in the head. Their respective nations mourned their beloved leaders and moved forward with lesser mortals as their replacements.
We are eternally-bored folks. Our never-ending boredom calls for continuous spectacle be made of our Godots, sooner rather than later. We like them, be them chosen or those who came without asking first, to be humiliated, hanged, executed or assassinated.
Personalities are mortal. Principles are not and when the cult mistakes one for the other, all hell breaks loose.
Many among us English speaking folks consider majority of populace as ‘jahil ganwaar loog’ (illiterate, ignorant masses). The question we better ask ourselves is, ‘Who are we fooling?’ These folks vote not because they have no conscience, they vote because they’ve sold their conscience. They sell their vote to get a petty job for a relative, they sell it for patronage, and they sell it to make sure that when they get caught they’ll be set free by their representative.
Make no mistake; Pakistanis are a politically conscious lot. They may be divided along many ethnic, linguistic or geographic lines but they know who they are electing and why they are electing him. They are neither oblivious of who they vote for nor hoodwinked into voting the sterile politico to corridors of power.
They have their priorities. They know their priorities. They strive to protect their priorities.
Then why do they complain?
Well, one needs something to complain about, something to cry foul about, something to blame for all that went wrong. What better subject than the person in power to criticize and condemn.
We crave for liberators. When we get them, or rather once we get them, boredom sinks in. And then what we do is discard them and start our search anew.
The circle never stops or halts. Our march continues…
