The unfortunate social game of buck-passing

 

 

 

SOMETHING is seriously wrong with our society. For, multiple sections of the society are engaged in an unfortunate game of buck-passing -- which we appear to refuse to notice because that suits us well, since that saves us the trouble of doing something beyond our comfort zones. The last week, the loud-thinker told the story of a great military hero of India -- Padmabhushan Lt. General Sagat Singh PVSM. As usual, the expectation that such stories need to be told to our younger generations at home and in schools and colleges. Several readers responded enthusiastically to the story of Lt. General Sagat Singh. But almost each of them said, “Yes, such stories should be told to kids in schools”.

 

Of course, there was only a scant response from schools and colleges as such -- except that a couple of Principals and Head Masters/Mistresses did agree that they should take proactive steps in this regard and start organising story-telling sessions for their students. But those ladies and gentlemen also said that parents also should step in and tell stories to their kids at home. So, in other words, the people want schools and colleges to tell the stories of Indian heroes and the schools and colleges want parents to take up that task. What a great buck-passing, this! What a great ‘not-me-but-you’ kind of ducking a responsibility ! The logic behind this social game is quite easy to decipher, so to say. For, when the parents pass the buck on to the schools, they are spared from the burden of telling the stories to their own kids at home. And when the schools and colleges say that the parents’ duty it is to do the job, they also escape from their part of the responsibility. But a caller -- both a parent and a teacher of substance -- offered the clincher.

 

He said, in effect, “But Sir, no parents know such stories.” Great ! -- -- That I do not know the stories of our great heroes and heroines is an official license to escape the moral burden ! Wow !!!! The loud-thinker insists that this is an ugly social game we have been playing all along -- of ducking our moral responsibility, of passing the buck. This game exposes the mentality, in effect, that ‘Shivaji-Maharaj-must-be-born,-but-in-the-neighbour’s-home’ ! The loud-thinker also insists that the stories of our great heroes in military or science or agriculture or in any field are easily available in public domain -- the books, the internet (with a little pinch of salt, though), as well as oral tradition. If we make a serious attempt to know these stories, all the material will be there for us out on a platter ... provided ...! This proviso is the clincher or killer -- ‘if we dare to step out of our comfort zones ...’ ! If ! ... !