12

Mar

The Emerging Reality and  Dilemma Before Veteran Professionals  

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My write-up of today is food for thought for all sober and thinking people in our society.

In a fast-changing world where virtues long cherished by us are being considered outdated, I wish to dwell on  the dilemma that haunts veterans and senior citizens who have led a quiet and contented personal and professional life in good grace.

 

In other words, the generation to which I belong did not blow its own trumpet and refrained from self-promotion and self-advertisement of any sort.  Bragging, boasting and talking about oneself openly and unabashedly was construed as a negative  personality trait and was frowned upon. But to the surprise of my generation, this  trait is now admired and is considered a necessary qualification to come up in life  What surely was good culture and decent behaviour then is in question now. Obviously, it is being asked if such an attitude which was a benchmark of good culture is workable and all right at the present juncture.

In fact, at present our society is neither being guided nor being controlled by the good and the worthy people. Unfortunately all sorts of petty and riff-raff elements are dominating the scene and the fake  instead of genuine seems to be the driving force of our society. They draw people’s attention and approval and occupy positions of high power in social fields and public life.

In a world, where leaders like Donald Trump, and Narendra Modi get mass approval and great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, and Martin Luther King with all their long and sustained struggles for freedom and justice,   are being sidelined and even questioned, the  morals downfall of society across the world is too obvious.

By traditional standards, pristine values and once held as eternal norms, talking about oneself even if genuine was discouraged by elders, seniors and peers in schools, universities and later in professional life. It was said that work shall speak for itself and good work will sooner or later be recognised, rewarded and appreciated. “Silence is gold if speech is silver” or “Still waters run deep” were quoted to teach a lesson to those who bragged or boasted or indulged in self- projection and self-appreciation even if it was genuine and verifiable. These values were hammered into a child right from the cradle till the time he or she entered professional life.   

Column at a Glance
The article reflects on society's changing values, particularly concerning self-promotion and the perception of virtues. The author, a member of an older generation, laments the shift from humility and modesty—traits once esteemed—to a culture that now celebrates self-promotion and arrogance. This transformation is seen as detrimental, with the author noting that genuine leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. are overshadowed by contemporary figures who thrive on bravado and superficiality.
Wednesday Wisdom
By Satish Misra
The author argues that traditional values, which emphasized the importance of letting one’s work speak for itself, are being eroded. Instead, society is increasingly dominated by those who engage in self-aggrandisement, leading to a moral decline characterized by hatred and division. The author contrasts the reputations of former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, known for his integrity, with current leaders whose credentials are often questioned.
In response to this troubling trend, the author recounts a conversation with a colleague who suggested that genuine work must be promoted to counteract the prevalence of falsehoods. This realization prompted the author to advocate for a more assertive approach among well-meaning individuals, encouraging them to share their achievements and perspectives. The article concludes with a call to action for the older generation to step forward and reclaim the narrative, fostering a society that values truth and integrity over superficiality.

Arrogance has replaced pride today. Fake appears to have triumphed and truth seems to have been silenced by outright lies repeated many times. Hatred and mutual suspicion have grown among communities, different groups in society and nations at a phenomenal rate. Peace, a fundamental requirement for human and national growth, is becoming more and more elusive and constantly under threat.

To illustrate what I am trying to convey an example in contrast closer home is the difference between two of our leaders  -- former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh,whose academic credentials were highly rated all over the educated world, and our present Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose academic and extra-curricular achievements are shrouded in mystery and can only be asked at the risk of being trolled as “anti-national”.   

How far we the elders, seniors and veterans born and brought up in the old value system are responsible for the present state of affairs ? An answer to this question is not easy but let me attempt.    

First  let me admit that the situation as I and  my friends see is very depressing and I am sure that my readers too share my concern. I have been seriously thinking of ways to effectively counter the trend and make a serious attempt at course correction.

I am taking liberty to narrate a true story to illustrate and highlight what forced me to take up this issue today. Couple of weeks back, a friend and colleague with over five decades of professional experience in the field of media called me up to share his view on our Website-Mediamap- which has been launched by few professionals of old school journalism who cherished to stand with truth.

While appreciating the content and material uploaded on the website, he suggested that we must also inform readers and viewers of our creative work of respective authors who write for us. He argued saying that in a world in which fake and false is in vogue and is promoted by a high pitch campaign and massive advertising, if genuine, creative and brilliant work is not promoted systematically by highlighting its quality and hard work by experienced, knowledgeable and educated individuals then very few would care to access your website. “Don’t boast or exaggerate virtues of the collective of your authors but you must inform your readers about their hard-earned achievements”, he argued.

In a world of modern economy where well packaged product fast replaces a genuine item driving out of circulation, his arguments began to make sense to me.   

His passionate but reasoned suggestion was worth discussing with friends and colleagues in our modest setup, I told myself. One of the tragedies of modern-day society is that while bads, wrong doers and criminals gang up, good and well intentioned never come together, I thought.

Good and well-meaning persons are neither aggressive nor willing to talk about themselves. They are shy remaining silent. Reality of above truism is one of main causes of today’s crisis in my opinion.   

So, I took the first step of hesitatingly raising the issue and the first response was cold but then I began to extend pluses of this approach. I succeeded in persuading our group and accordingly wrote to respective authors writing regularly for us. Rection from one friend and colleague with whom I worked for about a decade was still in negative.

In order to save the dangerous drift in society to reestablish the reign of positivity, good and sincere people, veterans and not so old, must give up their reluctance to project themselves making their identity public for a brutal public scrutiny.

This, hopefully, would wean away the young people and gullible from falsehood offering a different perspective driving third-raters out from competition to save our society and the nation.         

 Wishing you all the best on the happy festival of colourful Holi.

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