It is mind-boggling these days to see people praising their perceived political heroes for their perceived virtues. It seems as if there are quite a few people who cannot do without having a hero, imaginary or otherwise, in life.
This hero syndrome is so ingrained in the psyche of people in Pakistan that they see no hope in life for themselves and for the country without one. It is this very syndrome that is dictating the political ideology in Pakistan. Even dictators are heroes in the eyes of many. This syndrome is exploited by the demagogues with perfection and aplomb.
All mainstream political parties live under the shadows of their heroes.
Their pitch for selling their ideology revolves around a hero figure that cannot be questioned. Of course, people can question, but there are ways to drown out the ‘dissenting’ voices. Most people fall for it. And this applies to people in all camps influenced by the charm, charisma and magnetism of their respective heroes.
I think the first step towards political maturity is to get rid of this hero syndrome that can only be achieved by encouraging people to learn the art and science of critical thinking. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, all education, secular or otherwise, is not education, but complete indoctrination.
The ‘pure’ education, as is often advocated by some freaks, is simply a myth as every education system in the world has a tinge of indoctrination about it, and Pakistan is certainly not an exception on this count.
However, Pakistan is, indeed, an exception in terms of the scale and magnitude of the chaos its education system has caused as it is dominated by false narratives. Within the existing system, religious education teaches bigotry and secular education teaches greed. The products of such a system can only hope for a hero to come to their rescue because they have never been told that they might be good enough themselves if they focused and worked hard enough.
Character-building and critical thinking should be the key ingredients especially of formative education. Any system without these ingredients, in my opinion, is anything but education. False narratives make people delusional who will always take a mirage for an oasis, but will never find water.
SHAKEEL AHMED
CALGARY, CANADA
