I HAVE a number of nasty habits, and some goods ones too. I do not know from where I acquired them. Some say most habits are inherited; but my parents were an ideal couple, except that they were a bit short-tempered, particularly during the tail end of Ramazan.
I have adopted some other habits (good or bad) after getting influenced by my elders, friends, countrymen — I mean the entire social fabric to which I am inextricably attached. Therefore, I cannot be solely blamed for the nasty things I do nor fully accredited for the good ones. Of course, I can be accused of not shunning, discouraging or condemning my despicable habits or praised for propagating and extolling the virtuous ones. What I need to say here is that there is neither universal acclamation nor ethical commendation of a few habits, which have become man’s second nature. Consider the following:
Lying: This habit is acquired at any age from any strata of society, but parents and politicians are incorrigible trend-setters. Parents lie voluntarily or involuntarily in their own or their children’s’ interest, quite unaware that by doing so they are breeding a nation of non-dependable citizens.
Politicians lie to increase their popularity among the masses like Bush’s hoax about Iraq’s WMD — a bluff that cost the US 1,100 dead and 14,000 injured soldiers, plus $200 billion in 2004, not to mention the and scarcity of flue vaccines.
Second-rate politicians, that is dictators (civil or military) lie blatantly to justify their power and the continuance of their rule, not knowing that they are rearing a batch of political parasites, venal bureaucrats and a corrupt coterie of civilians that would ultimately disintegrate the nation.
It is also said that lying is husband’s helplessness, lover’s gospel, and housewife’s necessity.
Backbiting: Believe it or not, this kind of a bite is not the same as dog bite — it is worse. It is a dangerously infectious and a damaging habit. Its bacteria are found in the bloodstream in the embryonic stage. During infancy it is dormant; but as soon as our senses begin to work we become susceptible to it and the information we get through this media is classified as the WMD, which, when used, generates avoidable prejudices, breeds hatred and undermines both close and distant relationship. Perhaps for this covert destructiveness it was once practised by helpless slaves to foment animosity against their masters. Nowadays, it is the favourite pastime of one and all — plebeians to politicians. In fact, it is this feeling of complacency that has been and continues to be the bane of our political culture. No wonder our history is replete with announcements, made by the political party in power putting the blame on its predecessors for the economic ills of the common man. Moreover, backbiting, like white ants, gnaws at the social fabric making it fragile and vulnerable to all types of enticements. What backbiting does to society at large has been condemned by all wise men and religions.
Swearing: Environment and companionship play a vital role in the formation of the habit of swearing. If the family background of a person is a cultured and decent one, it is the contaminated social circle that inflicts the damage by injecting the habit of swearing in him. As swearing is quite close to a scuffle, the rising temperatures eventually lead to the eruption of a row, the moment foul language is used by two parties. What follows next is anybody’s guess: Fist fights (if unarmed), injuries (if lightly armed), casualties (if lethally armed), and fatalities (if auto armed).
Another aspect of swearing is making accusations, something that is rampant at the national and international levels. At home, President Musharraf’s uniform issue has spawned numerous accusations from different quarters.
This is one trait of my nature, which I instantly control by resorting to a 50-digit countdown.
Litter lout: This is one habit I haven’t been able to shrug off. It has been with me since I was a child. As a toddler I loved to see my toys scattered around me and would throw a tantrum the moment anybody cleaned up the mess. In school I loved to tear the corners of my notebooks and scatter them on the floor. In college I would do the same adding pencil scraps, used ballpoints and election pamphlets to the litter. The habit grew with me. I now take immense pleasure when I litter public places — roads, footpaths, parks — with all kinds of trash.
To my chagrin I noted that except for colourful plastic bags and fruit skin all other litter was simply colourless. So I took to paan-chewing and began painting everything red by spitting out paan peek on places like walls, staircases, tree-trunks, lamp posts, tyres, bumpers or if chance permitted headlights or bonnets of parked cars. At times one or two drops would land me in trouble. Not content with colouring, I developed the habit of sneezing and blowing my nose in public using neither tissue papers nor a handkerchief.
Barring this habit, which is nasty enough, I am otherwise a well-dressed, good-mannered, obedient citizen of Karachi which stands second last (after Dhaka and Lagos) among the 130 most livable cities of the world according to the most recent annual survey of The Economist Intelligence Unit.
And I have no regrets, as by now I am allergic to cleanliness.
