We are the nation of Critics

News of Phillip Hughes' death hit on media as a shocking bouncer especially for cricket lovers. A grief-stricken incident left debates on batsman’s techniques, shape of helmets and bowler’s armor; a bouncer. Shane Warne on this occasion rightly said, “Forget wider debates, now is a time to mourn”. Many cricketers around the world showed their condolence went out to talented player Phillip Hughes and with his family. There is no doubt that for many cricket experts and researchers, death of Phillip Hughes will linger in studies whenever batsman’s protection becomes a hardliner subject.

Pakistani nation loves cricket and we have been setting out our passion for decades. Like other cricketing nations, we let out our commiseration and sympathy with the victimized cricketer on electronic and social media. After putting out the news of the death of Phillip Hughes, I intuited that some critics will appear on this news and mourn on social media, but hang on; I knew that they would not be accordant with the request of Shane Warne but with their own paradigm and epitome. I even intuited their words. After a few hours, I went through a post (and appreciated my intuition power) and saw critics were mourning (differently, not the way how rest of the world doing). I am not sure about numbers, but I can intuit that more than one-third of the population of Pakistan is willing to dish out eagerly on every issue on social media. They went on with it.

The way Pakistani nation (not all) jerking around on every incident and event, it lures me to recall an interesting story that distinctly depicts the actual image of our society. Once, a man was traveling being with his son and a camel. Man had a ride of camel and his son was traveling by foot, people looked at man and started chewing him out that father has no sympathy for his son, that his son is pining away because of walking by foot and he is taking pleasure from the camel ride. Father suddenly realized and asked his son to have a ride and he pulled back from riding. After traveling some distance, people looked at them and dumped on that how disobedient his son is, that his father walks on and he takes a ride. They both dawned on and his son came down and both (father and son) started walking with camel. They both covered some distance, people looked at them and said, “How stupid they are that they are having camel with them but they don’t take a ride”. Again they both recognized it and both jumped into the camel and started to travel. After sometime people stick them out and as usual criticized that how cruel they are, that they are putting their load on pathetic camel. The crust of this story lets out the fact that people are always criticizing every act we perform. Unfortunately, there are some people in our society who live for criticism.

There is nothing wrong to be critics (as I am criticizing critics too) but one has to develop the ability of analysis and interpret the facts and figures without being biased. Criticism requires solid evidence and universal acceptance regarding their statements. Benjamin Franklin once rightly said about critics especially those who never follow the rules of criticism. He said, “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain - and most fools do”. Criticism is an art, and critic (a genuine one) is an artist. A biased critic is anyone who can negatively criticize - it is the cheapest of all comment because it requires not a modicum of the effort that suggestion requires. (Chuck Jones)

Imran Awan
Freelance writer