These are not those days. These days similitude to those
days is almost imperceptible and appear to be some kind ‘cracy’. Could be some
kind of ‘ego-cracy or ‘mouthocracy’ or tongueocracy’? For want of a better
word, let’s just say that this ‘cracy’ ~ an unhappy blend of the ego and the
mouth/tongue in unhealthy doses ~ has come to define today’s public, social and
political interactions and engagements. But let’s also be clear that this
‘cracy’ is not the age-old bitchiness indulged by mean, spiteful, toxic and
unhappy trouble makers. Actually, that too but this ‘cracy’ is more the
insatiable yen for attention, public validation and to place oneself in the
full frontal public gaze all the time. This ‘cracy’ is the opposite of
humility, civility and human decency. Possibly, this need to thrust oneself
into the public arena and be noticed has always been a part of human nature and
now technology has provided the platform to centre-stage this trait with no
shame, no reservations. So obviously, 24x7 there is an endless outpouring of
emotions, views and opinions ~ sometimes in words and other times pictorially ~
which are of no public interest and benefit. For politicians and people in
showbiz, probably it is necessary to be in the public eye to a certain extent but
everything depends on the contents.
Wise persons say it is better to listen than to speak.
Clearly they must mean listening to words of wisdom, not some self-centered
prattling about the self. One is not sure if phrases and idioms are taught in
school these days but there is a now rarely heard saying: “blow one’s own
trumpet”. It perfectly surmises today’s ‘cracy’, which is marked by a deafening
cacophonic blowing of one’s trumpet symptomatic of a gross violation of the
right to silence. Yes, one can switch off technology but surely there is a
right to respectful technology. Ultimately, only we can safeguard, secure and
protect our privacy but when we ourselves post an onslaught of photos of
birthday cakes and bouquets, new apparels, relationships, holidays, whatever,
we invade our own privacy and push such invasion down on others’ throats. What
are such posts really saying? That we live a perfect life we want everyone to
know therefore we blow our own trumpets.
Those days blowing one’s own trumpet was considered a
moral, social, political and economic no-no. But then, those were days of
simplicity and humility. These are days of flaunting it all in full public
view. These are days of the culture of brazenness. Is this what we have reduced
ourselves to? Is this what we really want of our lives, our society, our
country and our future? Is this what we want for our children? Has this culture
of brazenness become the underpinning of the education imparted at home, in
schools and in our religious and cultural spaces? What does this also say about
our upbringing? Blowing one’s trumpet is also known as bragging. Have we turned
into ace braggarts? Those days no one liked a braggart, these days braggarts
are the trend. They say time changes everyone and everything but possibly
everyone and everything change time and we have changed our time into something
we really ought not to be proud of.
Blowing one’s trumpet is not only shameful ~ at least it
was considered so those days ~ but they also get braggarts into trouble,
especially the kind that makes one lose face. Now, losing face is a very
serious setback in the personal, professional and public space, from which
regaining respect and reputation is almost impossible. The perfect saying for
this is: eat humble pie. And this pie isn’t appetizing. But then, these days
respect has a totally different meaning from what it used to mean those days,
no? And there seems to be more hankering for publicity than respect, no? The
thing is while blowing one’s trumpet, one also tends to demean and often defame
others. A lot of news today consists of getting into trouble, apologies, losing
face and even legal consequences. Per media reports, last Sunday (May 25),
Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised NDA leaders to exercise restraint and
avoid making “unnecessary remarks”, as he chaired a meeting of Chief Ministers
and Deputy Chief Ministers aimed at bolstering his leadership. Reportedly,
apart from dwelling on good governance, national security and inclusive growth,
Modi betrayed concern over the controversial remarks made by some leaders.
“Leaders should avoid saying anything anywhere. We should be careful before
speaking on any issue as it could be blown out of proportion in the age of
social media,” Modi reportedly said at the closed-door meeting. Media reports
state that though Modi did not refer to any specific cases, the advice comes
against the backdrop of contentious comments by some BJP leaders on the
Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Obviously, the Prime Minister has
realised that “unnecessary remarks” have not led to this objective or other
desired goals. In fact, “unnecessary remarks” does not bolster any objective.
And some “unnecessary remarks”, whether on social media or otherwise evoke
responses that were unanticipated, tend to invite boomeranging and unnecessary
controversies and hard feelings that invade public space unnecessarily.
Over the decade, it is very noticeable that sundry
members of the NDA have been indiscriminately making “unnecessary remarks”,
(not least by a very famous leader in Assam too) most of which have been a
setback for this political grouping ~ perhaps not so much electorally but in
reputational terms. Moreover, nothing exposes a person’s character, depth and
ignorance more than “unnecessary remarks”. Those days, a person’s character
defined their reputation and weighted more than all the precious metals in the
world, without which no person would never have been called “leader”, much less
respected as one. These days, no one also remembers the saying: “empty vessels
make the most noise”. It is so sad that these are days the sound of empty
vessels are creating walls and distances from the soothing cadence of wise
words, deeds and action and this shows in all aspects of our lives. With
“unnecessary remarks”, persons considered leaders are found to be either with
feet of clay or mere glitter these days.
(The Columnist is a journalist and poet. Published in the May 30, 2025
issue of Assam Tribune)
