Flights Of Fantasy
[ M Panging Pao ]
All that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. – Carlton Smith
There are ‘good people’ and ‘bad people’ in this world. It is generally felt that ‘good people’ are generally well-educated in good schools and colleges; are groomed to be humble, polite, well mannered, civil etc. They are taught to dress formally, stand in queues, and wait for their chance to speak. These pedigreed persons dress well, talk quietly, politely, and avoid shouting matches.
On the other hand, ‘bad people’ are brusque, aggressive, and are go-getters. They do not hesitate to engage in shouting duels, and like to dominate situations and persons. Some of them are less educated and exposed to petty crimes and violent acts at an early age, which trains them to absorb body blows.
In life, it is often seen that the miniscule ‘bad persons’ dominate, manipulate and exploit the majority ‘good persons’.
In a movie hall, a bunch of rowdies will make life miserable for the remaining hundreds of movie watchers. The majority will keep quiet for fear of violence. Similar is the case with small-time extortionists who extort money in small groups. The majority will quietly give money for fear of violence and to avoid trouble. Likewise, most bandhs are enforced by small groups of 10-15 people.
Media coverage shows how the majority of the public remain mute bystanders as women are molested by a few goons. Similar footages of public apathy are frequently seen wherein serious accident/medical victims on roads/highways are ignored by the majority of vehicles and pedestrians.
Something similar occurs in governments, politics and societies. Small groups of persons create policies, rules and regulations to abet pilferage of public money and assets. They create ‘exclusive ghettoes’ of elite persons to jointly plunder public money and assets. The majority of the public, consisting of senior citizens, farmers, villagers, government employees, businessmen, traders, etc, keep quiet and suffer silently.
It is a known fact that many well-educated and elite persons do not vote. The voting classes are majorly the middle and the lower classes. As a result, many governments are elected by middle- and lower-class votes. The well-educated elite must take responsibility for getting the kind of governments we are getting.
Good persons do not fight… good persons do not argue or shout… good persons do not protest… good persons do not intervene… good persons do not vote. Generally, good persons are apathetic and indifferent. They do their own duties well and leave the problems of the society to others.
Is it fair to conclude that the 10 percent ‘bad’ dictate, manipulate and exploit the 90 percent ‘good’? Is it acceptable for good persons to remain ‘good’ and do nothing? Basically, the majority of the people are ‘good at heart’… it is just that the ‘goodness’ has to bloom from the binding force of ‘badness’. History shows that when the majority ‘good people’ awaken, revolutions occur. Are we waiting for a revolution? Are you good or bad? (The contributor is retired Group Captain, Indian Air Force)
