These are not the most courteous of times. With reputations of even national ‘heroes’, past and present, going for a toss and the credibility of public personalities and institutions constantly under test, disrespect looks like a natural national habit and a generational trait. Indeed, the underlying irreverence that often runs through these columns, and pointed out by many readers, some respectfully and others not so (can I complain?), is only a reflection of a national mood which is one of large scale disorientation. Admittedly, this is not a pleasant state of mind to be in, particularly when humans have an inherent yearning for hope, happiness and harmony.
The media is often blamed for the all round impetuousness and cynicism. Sure, it is not above board and certainly not exempt from elementary ethics. As the harbinger of bad news and a sponsor of bad manners (some of the talk shows on TV give me an inferiority complex), the proverbial four fingers deliver a categorical indictment of the media. The multiplicity of channels and newspapers and the resultant race for scoops have ensured that scandal mongering and sensationalism are media’s second nature. Nothing enthuses or inspires a media hound more than the whiff of a corrupt politico, the scent of a scam, an out of context utterance or an unseemly act by a VIP. The media pounces with Pavlovian precision, tears the subject to shreds, whets its appetite and moves on to the next target. And underneath the mounds of dirt that it digs up lie reputations and careers. In a sense, it goes with the trade. Respect?Wrong number!
But why shoot the messenger when the message is loud and clear? What is the common man’s take on all that is happening around him? To believe that his disenchantment is entirely a media making is not just, ah, well, disrespecting his intelligence but also overestimating the media’s power. So, how is it that in a land where respect and reverence for elders, idols — stone and human — and even the elements of nature have run for centuries, so much of disrespect is now on parade? The facts are: True eminence is fast evaporating, the residue of really respectable people either does not fit into a morally depleted system or is scared away by an over-intrusive media and importantly, public institutions and politicians have failed to deliver not just on their promises, but also on their basic duties. Several recent events can not only explain why respect is in such short supply but also point to its total extinction from the human heart soon enough.
The Presidential poll is a striking case. Now that Pratiba Patil has settled in R.Bhavan with a ‘respectable’ tag, what happens to all those charges? Has the law of the land come to a dead end at Raisina Hill? Should the media call it quits? So next time, some one as tainted or more, runs for a high office, should we all, hypocritically say, ‘I have the highest respect for the person and the Office’ and then set about thrashing that person, or just skip the formalities and start thrashing rightaway? In the present case, with the basic charges remaining unexplained and unresolved, how do we retrieve and reinstate the President’s lost respect? And finally, who is to blame for all the disrespect – the person or the mirror?
Manmohan was a highly respected man. But today, not just columnists but even the man on the street routinely refer to the PM as a puppet. Who caused the slide? In TN we don’t talk of just respect but self-respect. But what a racket this self-respect has turned out to be! For, can any self-respecting person swallow the fawning felicitations, filial bondings and fatal feuds that the State’s first family displays in full public glare? Or the AIADMK wherein fulsome flattery and the ability to fall head over heels, literally, are the basic qualifications for even party membership. Or look at the way Ramadoss and Karunanidhi ‘respect’ each other every day! May be the Pratibas, Manmohans, Ks and Js are not looking for respect, but are after things more tangible!
The law of the land does ordain respect as a legal obligation in some cases. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act punishes whoever disrespects in a public place the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India or any part thereof. And these must be respected even if there is no such law. Parliament and State Assemblies have their respect insulated by Privilege. But, with the live televising of their preceedings such protection has become meaningless because the public are quite alive to the behavior of their honourable reps. And whatever those official telecasts miss, the candid cameras make up. And the picture is invariably that of the lawmakers as a lawless lot, with scant respect for the law they make! Little wonder, the respect for MPs and MLAs in public eye is nought and next to nought … respectively!
The courts have their respect guaranteed by the provision of Contempt which acts as a scarecrow for overzealous mediamen or the public. But should judicial corruption be pushed under the carpet on that count? Also, the painfully slow process of law and frustration of law even when it takes its own course, as in the Afzal case, does shake the confidence of people. Again, the law of the land has been quite ineffectual in bringing political crooks to book. While respect is presently a pre-condition and so a formal affair, with transparency and speed, the judiciary would have also earned it.
Then there are moral dilemmas like respect for elders and the dead. Are Karunakarans and Karunanidhis, who are past their eighties but no passive political players covered under ‘respect for elders’? Can Nehru, Gandhi or Jinnah rest in peace in their graves along with the last respects and skip posthumous scrutiny, even when unflattering facts turn up afresh? Particularly when their acts continue to haunt the present? Or how do you insulate Anna, Periyar, Kamaraj or MGR when current politics is carried on in their name? But if the dead are entitled to a blanket cover, what about the likes of Saddam?
A person or object aspiring for respect should be like a magnet capable of attracting it. But, irrespective of whether it is commanded or demanded, you can only respect what you trust. A tall order, even for the Almighty!
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