Couple of incidents over the last 8-10 days have made me think….Progress at what cost….and what are we leaving behind to catch up with us….
First incident -
I was on my way in the evening on some household errand….just about a kilometer from home, after the police chowky, I saw an old woman kneeling on the road where a young man was lying probably unconscious. There were a few fruit and vegetable vendors around….but hardly anybody seemed bothered. The errand being urgent, and to avoid a traffic jam behind me, I did not stop to find out what was wrong. I was consciously more conscious about dead traffic than about the unconscious young man and the old lady. I continued to progress, though I felt helpless in the situation.
Second incident -
Just the day before yesterday, on my way to the Parsi Gymkhana swimming pool, with my son, I saw a couple, with 3-4 kids at a turning after Hutchings High School lane. The man had in his one arm one child, and was almost begging with the other hand for motorists to stop and help him. With my son with me, and doubting the fact that a young man with wife and kids, decently clad, would need much help, I proceeded to the pool, without paying much heed.
On my way back I remembered to check if that family had found any help, and decided to stop and ask them the problem. Astonishingly, they were still there. Though a bit frightful, I decided to stop and ask them. I pulled down the window pane, and as I was about to ask, there was a loud sound of a horn from behind me. It came from a bigger car, and people in it, obviously, did not think it was worthwhile for me to block their way just to ask / help a man on the road. I obliged them and continued to proceed, without, again, being of much use to the man. I felt pathetic and helpless at the way things worked that day. Even if I wanted to help a distressed family, the social conditions did not permit them. The mental mood, social setup, security and authenticity of such incidents all played on my mind while deciding or acting under the given circumstances. Probably, it made my mental setup look weak and shaky, though it isn’t the case.
Third incident -
Not really and incident, but a fact of life, that is true today more than anytime in the past. In the business newspaper that I read, there was an interesting letter to the editor. It was about how children are being used rampantly in advertising on television and other media. It has gone to the extent where children are being influenced to influence the decision of purchase of products. Not just making them more intelligent, but at the same time snatching away their innocence. Children and childhood need to be preserved to their most naive form to enable them to experience the joy and pleasure of their age. If they do the same things as children, what their parents are supposed to do as parents then there is hardly much difference between the two.
A live example of that occurred yesterday. I was helping my son play a computer game. Since he could not manage to handle the multiple keys needed to keep the cars on track, I decided to show him how to do it. When I took the drivers seat and my son next to me….cheering me with words like “you can do it….”, “you are just one behind ….”, “look forward….almost done..”. I was astonished that my, yet to be, five year old could cheer me to victory in the same manner as I would cheer him.
Then today I happened to hear a TV program which my son likes to watch. Though intended for high school children, my son likes to see this program given the familiar school like atmosphere and activities portrayed in it. In the absence of the ever addicting cartoon channels, he is allowed to see this program. Slowly, as I overheard the program, I began to realize that the words and toning used in the program was similar to what my son was using while cheering me up in the computer game. I quickly got the connection between what he sees on TV is reflected directly in his behavior at home, and probably and more likely at school. Though good in one aspect, but vulnerable in another…..I could see the connection between what the letter to the editor actually meant - advertisements making children feel bigger than they actually are and in the meanwhile, forgoing all childhood joys and pleasures.
These are the 3 incidents that made me think that even though we seem to be progressing at break neck speeds, are we really moving ahead in the right direction? Is a single empty stomach not a betrayal of the fact that we are progressing? Do not our social, governmental, professional and personal responsibilities include paying attention and heed to happenings outside our sphere of progress? How does one ensure that the people asking for help are the real ones who need help and not fake ones?
The incidents that I have mentioned are commonplace and would have occurred in our lives sometime or the other. Yet, many would have behaved in ways similar to what I did. Many would have gone a step ahead and tried to help. Is there a more concrete way to approach such problems? Do we have a setup that can handle such situations? Do we need to create or strengthen such setups? Are there any better solutions?
Progress, though you have given us what we didn’t have, do not take away from us of what little we did have - peace of mind!!!
