This is a diary recollection from an institute I've taught at. The decision to not name the institute is deliberate as I think the issue I try to highlight is more generic and fairly widespread in society today.
Went for this function at a college : the usual affair: a small cultural program, some prize distributions, a couple of small speeches (and a really delicious dinner :)!). It's cool to know faculty members at different colleges : academic collaborations aside, one gets invited to these affairs once in a while - and it's good recreation!
So after a couple of dances and small skits, there come these two girls on stage and start talking about kindness and how we could collectively spread its spirit. I was impressed! My mind immediately went: Ah! Now that's refreshing!
After a few minutes of pretty well done chitter chatter, with elements of humor thrown in, one of the girls asks people from the audience to come up on stage and talk about acts of kindness they they have carried out.
There was silence in the audience :). No one was forthcoming. And I could understand why this was happening :) : even my personal ideal is this quote by Swami Vivekananda (easily one of my favorite people in the world):
“I do not care for liberation…’doing good to others (silently) like the spring’ this is my religion.”
I just smiled to myself and waited to see how this girl would handle this. I mean it's alright : there can be differences in opinions, she may see things differently from myself or others in the audience. That's quite alright :). But I was curious: She was on stage at her college. Folks who have taught her were sitting in the audience. Elder to her, more educated, her teachers ... :). How would she handle this response of silence from their side :)?
And this is precisely where the disturbing part came. Here's what she did: Turned to her companion on stage and went: "Well, it looks like there just aren't any kind people here tonight!"
Folks elder to her, more educated, her teachers :) : and she didn't feel a moments hesitation in passing a judgment. And this when we were on the subject of kindness :).
The audience didn't flinch. Silence persisted. Correctly so. Teachers know when to respond. And when not to. This wasn't worth responding to.
Eventually the program winds up and we head to dinner. This girls is also there : flittering from group to group. I overhear her putting down her teachers when she's talking with her friends, I overhear haughtiness in her voice when she's talking with her teachers, college girl who probably hasn't earned a day's honest living, who probably buys all her perfumes and handkerchiefs with her parents' money, this lady was one loud buzz of haughtiness and arrogance :) : and she actually thought herself fit to come and sermonize everyone on kindness :).
I tossed and turned a fair bit after getting back home. What kind of a generation are we seeing come up? Is it poor parenting? Poor schooling? The arrogance of money? What is it that could enable someone to behave in such a shallow and insensitive manner?
Can't possibly be exposure to good literature, good art, good movies, carefully watching the world, understanding the sheer pain a very large number of people are going through (here: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-global-poverty), a tendency to introspect a bit...
Where is it going wrong?
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