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Spotlight

Mahdin Mahboob
Photo: Md Akhlas Uddin

ONE of the major drawbacks that has been holding us back as a nation is our inability to think on a collective scale; most of us tend to be self-centred, if not selfish, and fail to understand the power of WE and concentrate in our personal gains instead. All the problems, it seems, have the root in the mindset of ours, which, I believe, is desperately in need of a change.

Corruption, one of the most talked about problems on talk shows, newspaper articles and in high profile seminars, can hardly be solved with new laws and drastic actions unless we are able to come out of the box of ME. Those of us in power, the power to make important decisions on a national, or even a smaller scale, tend to think of our personal benefits that can be derived while making those decisions. We tend to assign the contract of making a bridge or a road not to the lowest bidder or one who can assure the best quality, as it ideally should have been, but to someone who has taken advantage of our low morale and has bribed us into believing that he would be the best person for the job. Little do we understand that in doing so, often enough, we bring about our own doom, with underquality constructions often resulting into dire consequences that can hardly be prevented.

In the job market, nepotism seems to be prevalent as an overwhelming number of employers seem to think that their shalas and bhaginas are more aptly fitted for a certain job compared to someone who truly has the merits and the required skills for the job. In hiring someone less able, the organization loses the brightest of minds who had a higher probability of performing better and thus taking it forward. Here too, ME seems to be the predominant factor.

Many streets in Dhaka, and in other parts of the country are made dirty mostly by its local inhabitants rather than from outsiders. If we cannot keep the streets in front of our homes clean, how can we really expect the city to be clean and spotless? All of us should play our individual roles in the society to bring about the collective change that we so desperately need!

Examples like the above seem to be countless and unending but I believe my message has been well explained already so this article would no longer be prolonged. It is high time that we change our mindsets in order to take the country forward or lag behind everyone else in this fast paced world. Change, as they say, seems to be the only constant!

mahdin@thedailystar.net