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you all know the proverb (kahawat) of Urdu/Hindi. Right? the one that says:
---- Bud Achcha, Bud-naam bura
(better to be a one time criminal, than being constantly accused of a crime that you may not have comitted)
Us Pakistanis worry day and night that our younger brothers, our family members, our sons and daughters keep the good name for themselves, because it reflrects on the whole family.
We make sure they dress appropriately, speak properly, and have good manners at the dining table.
Kids must not swear and curse, do their home work, and be respectful to their teachers and to their elders.
why,
Because we all know that our near ones and dear ones must keep their good reputation. This is especially true about girls and women, but so is the case about boys and men too.
But for some gad-awful reason, we forget all these golden rules when it comes to our beautiful country.
We spread around rumors and innuendo without an iota of proof,
We accuse others of corruption based on mere speculation.
We support draconian laws like blasphemy for the dead and even non-humans like religious books.
But then we turn around and blaspheme each other, curse each other, and kill each other based on some made up story.
then if people get a bad image of our country, we turn around and innocently ask. Why it is so Johnny? why is it so?
The only reason I see is that we do not see the connection between rules for our family members and the application of the same golden rule of keeping the good name, the good image for our country.
Hopefully one day we will understand this and then only then we'll protect the reputation of our country just like we protect the reputation of our mothers, our sisters, our daughters, and our sons and brothers. Only then!
peace