The defeatist and pessimistic attitude of the people of Pakistan

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines defeatism as the attitude of accepting, expecting, or being resigned to defeat, while pessimism is defined as an inclination to emphasize adverse aspects, conditions, and possibilities or to expect the worst possible outcome. Bearing this in mind, it shouldn’t be difficult for one to analyze why such an attitude is found in our countrymen- and indeed in us. On the 14^th of August 1947 the foundation of this nation was laid- and with it were laid the seeds of optimism, and belief, and hope. Hope, that we will progress- hope that we will overcome the difficulties facing us and hope that we will finally take our rightful place in this world. But where exactly did this hope lead us? It lead us to disappointment after disappointment, defeat after defeat. And slowly, but surely, optimism turned to realism- and the realization that we, indeed, are a sorry bunch. Hence- to say that the people of Pakistan are wrong in being pessimistic in their approach would be a great injustice to what they have gone through. It is after years of experience, experience that has come at a very heavy price that we have accepted the reality of where we stand in today’s world. It isn’t merely pessimism- it’s realism.

The attitude of the people justified- we must now look to see how we can use it to our advantage. The thing with an optimistic approach is that though it has a great deal of benefits, it can often lead to an acceptance of the deluded truth. An optimist, as everyone knows, sees the glass as half full. The problem with this is that such an approach can lead to complacency and false hope- and as the people of Pakistan know, false hope is a a very painful thing. A pessimist, on the other hand, sees the glass as half empty- and that is where I see him at an advantage. Only a person who is willing to accept that the glass is half empty can sense the urgency that is required to fill the glass. Besides that, the pessimist ‘expects the worst possible scenario’. This, again, is a blessing in disguise. If you expect the worst possible outcome, but it so turns out that something better is in store, you have something to rejoice at- A win-win situation. Here, again, an optimist is at a sure disadvantage.

However, that said, the attitude of a defeatist can never be justified. Pessimism, as far as expecting the worst outcome and seeing the negative aspects of issues, is perfectly alright, but that doesn’t mean that one lets things be and labels working for the country as a ‘hopeless cause’- to the contrary, action is the need of the hour in such a situation. And in this regard, and this only, one needs to be optimistic- albeit, cautiously- hours of hard work can be destroyed by a single, unnecessary decision.

Hence, to conclude, i quote Khalil Gibran- whose saying captures the essence of whatever I have written-

“The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose”