Zamir Ahmad
Once upon a time a king was served fried brinjal in dinner. Delighted with the preparation, he praised it lavishly. “It is the king of all vegetables,” his minister agreed loyally. “That is why god has given it a crown on top of its head.” The king then had it cooked every day for each meal, till he grew sick of it. “I can’t eat it anymore,” he thundered. The minister didn’t miss a step. “Yes sir, it is the worst vegetable! That is why god has driven a nail into its head,” he said promptly.
Many of us must have heard this story before and some of us might even have come across such people who consciously follow the policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances, with little regard for principles. Behavioral scientists have variously attempted to analyze this trait and to understand the psyche behind it.
It essentially concerns the relationship between what people do, and their basic principles, nature or motivations, when faced with changed circumstances. This type of behavior is more commonly seen in people who have strong feeling of insecurity coupled with intense lust for positions of power and prominence.
Such people seek to gain personal advantage when an opportunity presents itself, putting self-interest ahead of some other interest, in a way which is contrary either to a previously established principle or their own previous stated positions. Simply put, people exhibiting this behavior have no respect for values and principles and try to maximize their advantage in any situation by resorting to dubious means and instruments of intrigue.
Ordinarily the evil influences of such a trait are restricted to a few. However, when people occupying positions of authority tend to behave like the minister in the tale, the repercussions are immense. For one, these people lose respect of their followers and the support of the well-meant. Secondly, it drives the good people in the society more into hibernation and encourages the opportunists to make hay while the sun shines.
Thirdly and most importantly, it seriously threatens the survival of the institutional frameworks as process continuity is lost to sycophancy and yes man-ism. Taking a principled stand on things is a courageous act. Putting larger interests before self interests is a virtue. Nations and societies bereft of this virtue are doomed to go into oblivion. So are those people who put larger causes at stake for smaller ephemeral interests.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has a great piece of advice for such people that merits quote in extensor. It is a part of his sermon delivered in Atlanta in 1967. It goes thus:
“One day, some great opportunity stands before you and calls upon you to stand for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause.
And you refuse to do it because you are afraid.
You refuse to do it because you want to live longer. You’re afraid that you will lose your job, or you are afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity…
So you refuse to take a stand. Well, you may go on and live until you are ninety, but you are just as dead at 38 as you would be at ninety.
And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit.
You died when you refused to stand up for right.
You died when you refused to stand up for truth.
You died when you refused to stand up for justice.”
