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Celebrating his humiliation in the infidel lands. (Photo: Thecurrentaffairs.com) |
Javed Chaudhry is a famous TV anchor. He hosts his show called “Kal Tak” on Express News. He is one of the most vocal, if not the most stunt prone anchor to blatantly and vehemently degrade the government and ensure that it appears nothing more than a spoof to the citizens of Pakistan. He is also a sensationalist. He sensationalizes stories and puts them at the front for all and sundry to see, because that ensures his publicity and rakes in a lot of money.
He is also a hypocrite. While he constantly lambasts the government for succumbing to its imperialistic vestiges, he himself expects that treatment laid out for him. As his latest article quite blatantly mentions how he was humiliated at the hands of a “fat, bald guy” at the Dulles International Airport in the United States. For one, the US immigration authorities have rules and regulations that they adhere to, and quite unlike the Pakistani system no one is exempt from them. For another reason, I quite agree with the commenter who has stated below his article that if he had such an issue with this degrading treatment at the hands of insignificant American airport officials, he should’ve have returned home. Why go to a place where you feel you are unwelcome?
Since we’re on the subject of the double standards of Javed Chaudhry, I found it highly absurd that he had not mentioned the Pakistani immigration authorities’ attitude towards the Pakistani citizens themselves. But then I thought, since Javed Chaudhry is nothing short of a VIP in Pakistan, he probably did not have to wait in line at the immigration counter at Islamabad and then face the wrath of a foul mouthed official on the other side of the counter.
What really pisses me off is the lack of sensitivity that we have towards our own selves. I find it absurd that instead of putting our own house in order, we find flimsy excuses to bad mouth everything that tries to do away with the made up pretence that we so blindingly follow. The US government has rules, and they follow them. If we had any rules, the US government’s officials would have had to follow them too. And this brings me to the only point that I agree (partially) with in Javed Chaudhry’s article. A nation that does not guard its honor must suffer humiliation everywhere; not just while entering the United States.
This article also dismissed the myth of objective journalism that we seem to crave for. Apparently, there is no such thing as objective journalism. The idea is that, once someone wants to tell us some “facts”, he or she will undoubtedly put some personal tinge on them. This is precisely what Javed Chaudhry did, but in the process he described his own double standards for the people to see. While he wants the US to treat him like royalty (because he gets royal treatment in Pakistan?), he has shown his shallowness and biasness when he attacks the PPP government for being nepotistic, and incompetent.
It is the height of our bungling attitude that we try to find scapegoats everywhere that we go. Sometimes it’s the United States for not showing us any respect, and other times its Israel for wanting to wipe us of the map. Still other times, it is India because India has never quite accepted us as an independent nation and wants to take back the landmass it lost in August 1947. In this periphery of every changing foes and scapegoats, we have lost the ability to introspect and look within ourselves to address the faults that are so clearly visible for all too see.
Maintaining objectivity and staying clear of emotional sensationalism should be the sole basis of publishing material on esteemed and reputable websites, lest they act as fodder for the demons that lurk amongst us.
