Happy Endings?

Is there such a thing as a Happy Ending?

We are brought up watching Disney movies where it all ends Happily Ever After. When we are young, we dream big, aim high and plan far. We think of a point in the future where everything will be perfect. The truth is different. There is no such thing as a Happy Ending. The whole concept is a bag full of bull shit. We are brought up on a lie. Our childhood is full of lies. I might sound like a pessimist and this thought might be depressing but look back in your life. Look how far you have come and what difference did it make? 18-20 years of your life passed by in a flash; a few more decades will pass by quickly too. Then you will grow old and die. You are born, you struggle, study, go to college, get a job, get married, raise kids and then die. For some, this process may even end abruptly, and when it does, the lives of those around that person is affected in such a negatively heavy way that they soon realize it too that THERE IS NO HAPPY ENDING.

The sooner you realize this truth, the better it is for you. Because once you realize this, you will stop chasing the clouds trying to catch them. You will stop wasting your energy on a vain activity. But then this raises another question. If there is no Happy Ending, then what should we do with our lives? What should we chase after?

The answer is pretty simple. Live for others. It does not matter what kind of a Happy Ending you will have. What matters is how have you made a Happy Ending for someone else.

Tolerance

You may have heard the word "Tolerance" a lot these days. Yet you fail to realize how crucial it is for the betterment of humanity as a whole. You use this word in the wrong sense. You tolerate the genocide of innocent people but you do not tolerate the beliefs of those people. You tolerate the silence and inefficiency of the authorities (like the government) but you fail to tolerate the protests and vigils of those affected. This reminds of the pre-Islamic Arabia when tolerance was used in the same way as today. Young girls were buried alive, tribes and clans brutality killed each other, power struggle was always bloody, etc. Don't you see the same today? My belief is better than yours or I am right and you are wrong or you deserve to die or it is my duty to clean this religion or you did not help us so how can we help you or this happens to everyone so get over it or you are not the only one or I rather not get involved in this. SO MANY COMMENTS, OPINIONS, SUGGESTIONS, EXCUSES! All bull-shit (do not mind my french, tolerate this now).

You fail to realize that how will the whole society become tolerant if you yourself are not tolerant at heart? How will. every accept other no matter what the differences if you yourself think you are superior than other? Did God personally come down and whisper in your ear that you are better than others? Did he personally tell you that you are superior? NO. Then why do you think your beliefs are better than others or your skin color is superior to others? God wants you to be humble and mind your own fucking business (tolerate my french once again). You have no authority to decide the fate of other people. You have no right to decide who lives and who dies. You have no right to take on the responsibility of racial, ethnic or sectarian cleansing. WHO ARE YOU? God's chosen people? AGAIN BULL-SHIT! Putting your head down on the ground five times a day and then going out calling other people non-believers does not make you a good person in the sight of God. It only makes you an idiot. You make a fool of yourself and your religion with your idiotic actions and words.

Did your Prophet (PBUH) teach you to kill anyone who disagrees with you? NO. Did your Prophet (PBUH) order you to stay silent when innocent people are killed? NO. Did your Prophet (PBUH) teach you to be intolerant? NO. NO. NO. He lived in Madinah with people from all kinds of backgrounds. His friends were from different ethnicity. His people were given protection by a Christian. So many examples where one system of beliefs helped another system of beliefs even though they disagreed. SHAME ON YOU ALL!

Our textbooks in elementary, middle and high school teaches kids about the wars of 1965 and 1971. They teach us about Jihad. They mention the basic beliefs of Islam. BUT SELDOM DO THEY TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TOLERANCE AND DIVERSITY. The textbooks should focus more on stories where tolerance is the main theme than stories where one human being kills another human being. Besides that, teach your own kids that calling another human being a non-Muslim and then shunning him or her is not an authority given to them by God. Punish your kids if they do not follow the code of tolerance. You can punish them for not doing their homework or not listening to you but you cannot punish them when they think ill of a different sect or religion or ethnicity? Shame on you. You are no one to judge the fate of another human being. You are no one to publicly criticize the beliefs of another sect. Have peaceful dialogues and discussions among yourselves but do not focus on the difference but on the similarities. Pay attention towards learning more about each other than trying to prove the other person wrong. A debate that has not been resolved for past 1400 years will not be resolved even now so why even bother looking for a resolution? Share knowledge but do not ENFORCE your beliefs.

Be tolerant of other people's emotions, beliefs and faith. DO NOT TOLERATE MURDER AND GENOCIDE OR ANY CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY. Killing of anyone without a proper trial where his or her crime is proven is never justified.

And teach others about tolerance.

Freedom of Choice?

Every human is free. Every human being has a freedom of choice. They have the right to make their own decisions concerning themselves. But with this freedom comes a great responsibility. Your decisions never affect you only as every human life is connected to another and the spider web of humanity is established. What you do may influence your society or some child a continent away. Therefore, think before you act. Ponder before you make your decisions or choose your words to express something. You may be an advocate of individualism, or you may talk a lot about "freedom of choice" but remember, nature has given you reason as well. Nature has given you the ability to ponder. More than anything, nature has given you will power. Freedom, reasoning and will power were given to you for a certain reason. Combine them all together when you live your life. Do not just live your life on the idea of freedom alone nor just live a life based on your logical reasoning. Combine all these together. You may say I am free to do or say whatever I want, but without reason you will not realise that your words may hurt someone else or start a dangerous domino effect in society. And without willpower you will not be able to control your tongue and keep your harmful words to yourself. Freedom, reasoning and willpower are nature's gift to humanity but humanity must utilise all three of these elements simultaneously while acting. If you give up on even a single of these three elements, then you will act out of pure selfishness. For example, if you choose to do drugs out of your freedom of choice without utilising your reasoning and willpower, then you will not only harm yourself but also the people surrounding you. If you choose to be a rebel against your parents or your society, then once again, depending on your reason to be rebellious, you may hurt the emotions of your parents who brought you up or you may result in becoming a part of the degeneration of your society. Here, you should use your willpower to control yourself and back off. Being rebellious my be useful if your reasoning tells you that it is necessary for the evolution and betterment of society and in that case use your willpower to stand steadfast and fight on.

Therefore, dear humanity, use your freedom, your reasoning and your willpower all together at the same time before acting.

And it begins...

Dear all,

Life has put me in a lot of stuff. Yet I do not blame life. I do not blame my fate or destiny. I blame the people. I blame the silence of these people. I blame the society. A lot has changed for me. A lot has changed for the remaining members of my family. A lot has changed for thousands of families. Our only crime, our beliefs.

From now on, besides the usual blogging, I will address the people of this world regarding certain issues and dilemmas. If you agree with what I write, go ahead and share it. But if you do not agree with what I write, then go ahead and stop reading.

Thank you.

YOU vs. Physics

Physics of the 21st Century will try to persuade you that YOU are not special, that YOU were a product of some chance, that YOU are insignificant compared to the vastness of the universe, that YOU were part of some star-dust and will die to nothingness. Well, in that case, YOU should reply, "F*** YOU PHYSICS!"

No matter what the science or media or latest advancements tell you, remember that your universe is created by your own mind and thoughts. Your universe consists of your perspectives. Do not let any external medium affect your universe. Do not let some guy with a big head and messed up grey hair make you believe that you are not special. You are special and beautiful in your own way. Your thoughts and beliefs and opinions and perspectives combine together to form a unique YOU. Everything unique is beautiful. It is the whole idea of uniqueness that makes this whole world beautiful. YOU are special and only YOU can convince yourself to believe that. SO GET TO WORK!

A Fictional Tale of a Mad Man!

Here he is. Fluctuating between God and wine.
What has he become? What monster has he become? He needs peace of mind. He can't find it anywhere. Oh where should he go? To what should he turn? Wine or religion? Has he become so low that he has lost it? He was always sure of himself. Always. Yet now he stands nowhere. Yet now he is lost. Has he stooped so below the ground that he has become materialistic? This materialism isn't giving him what he needs. He needs peace. He needs solace. He needs satisfaction. This madness. Oh this madness!

(This is a fictional piece of writing with no connection to anyone I know.)

Who is to be blamed?

As I sit in a foreign country and see Pakistan from a third-person's perspective, I ask myself: who is to be blamed? Who is to be blamed for the deterioration of my country? Who should be blamed for the destruction of my land? Who is guilty of the crime of ruining the glory of my home country?  The elite? No. The elite cannot be blamed. The elite will always exploit everything and everyone around them. They will squeeze every atom of every available resource around them for their own advantage. They cannot be blamed for anything as whatever they are doing is in accordance with their basic nature.  The poor? No. They are too helpless and too hopeless even though they are in majority. They are weak and incapable. They cannot be blamed as they are the ones suffering from majority of oppressions and persecutions. They are the ones most affected. It is not their fault. Then? Who should we blame? The whole blame lies on the shoulders of the middle-class society. They are the ones who decide to seal their mouths, blindfold their eyes and shut their ears. See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil?? Bullshit. They are guilty. They have the required resources which poor class do not have. They are capable of the sense of responsibility which the elite do not have. Yet they decide to do nothing. They can read and write and speak and fight, yet they decide to sit at home and do nothing. They pretend to have the helplessness and hopelessness of the poor class and the apathy and immorality of the elite. They pretend and they remain silent. Shame on them. They are guilty.

Education in Pakistan? Ha Ha Ha

I am writing against the unfair education system of Pakistan. I am opposing the whole foundation that is forming the future of Pakistan and this world.
Starting from the private education institutions to public schools and colleges, everything is adding to the potential failure of Pakistan as a nation and as a state.

You call it Education? I call it ignorance.

Pakistan is on the verge of self-destruction. I do not blame corruption nor do I blame extremism. I just blame our education system. There are many flaws in Pakistan's education system which are slowly corroding the pillars of this country and eating through the foundation of Pakistan like termites. 

Matric or Cambridge? 
Why is there a dual system in this country in the first place? Have you ever wondered it's consequences? First of all, this system is creating a huge class difference in our society. The rich study in the Cambridge system because they can afford it and because their idiotic children can give as many re-takes as possible while the poor study in the Matriculation system because it is affordable and will land them in an average public college, university or a government job. The rich get into better universities while the poor get an extremely hard time trying to fit into the academic scenario of Pakistan. The rich kids usually land themselves into a good paying job and hence their children also get to study in expensive Cambridge system. While the others who had a not-so-high-quality education have to struggle a lot to get a job that would feed their family; their off-springs are also forced to become a part of the same cycle of public schools and average universities. A class division inevitably forms. The rich get richer. The poor keep on struggling. 

School or business?
Education is the right of every individual and education should not become a business. Alas, in Pakistan it has become a very thriving business. Parents are concerned about their child's future and thus opt for private schools. Just go and check how many students study in a single private school and how high is the fee of every child. The owners of the popular school chains of Pakistan drive Mercedes and BMW while my parents were forced to sell their cars to pay for my education. I am not the only one. I have seen my friends and their parents struggle to keep up with the monetary demands of the schools. After that, do not forget the high Cambridge Exam Registration fee. Every year in the month of January, parents from all over Pakistan have to empty their pockets and register their child for these exams. On the other hand, these parents also have to spend a fortune on books and school supplies. Our public school textbooks are too outdated and our private school books are too expensive. Public schools don't have quality. Private schools only produce stuck-up, character-less individuals with no desire to give back to the society. Why does a school asks it's students to buy new books every year when the school itself could provide those books through it's system of a library? Oh, I forgot, because these school have contracts with publishers. Another money-making technique. Have these businessmen stooped so low as to exploit the citizens of Pakistan even through education? And then we wonder why Pakistan is not moving forward! We blame corruption, we curse our leadership, but we never come out on streets for atrocities of this type.

Tuitions, Tutions, Tutions
In my high school experience, I have always avoided tuitions. Even though I often needed them, I still had to stop myself because of the extra financial burden it would put on my parents' shoulders. However, one can stop and observe how the system of schools and system of tuition centers work together with fluidity. In schools, the teachers pay less attention to every student and as a result the student has to join a tuition centre. A teacher earns money not only from the institution but also from tuitions. Moreover, I have seldom heard about a school which has put a restriction on it's teachers giving tuitions. These same teachers will often blackmail the school staff and even join other institutions of  their demands are not met. Seeing this whole scenario, I detest the profession of a teacher. They are also on the road to exploit every poor soul hungry for knowledge. Knowledge is supposed to be free or at least affordable. If an institution is charging a huge sum of money, then they must also make sure that none of their students should even feel the need for tuitions. Even if some students need help, then the institution should arrange extra classes free of cost--every opportunity should not be used to make more money!

A Personal Experience
My parents have always supported me in my educational endeavors. However, I have always felt guilty for asking too much. They sent me to another city to study and that move proved beneficial. But my family had to struggle every day of every month just so that I could get good education as they didn't want to see me "wasted." I got into Oxford, but could not go due to financial restrictions. At that moment, my school gave me hope and told me they will make sure that I go by finding me sponsors. They advertised me. They sold me on billboards. And they got a huge load of new admissions. But when the time came for actually helping me, they just vanished. They said they cannot do anything and I must forget about Oxford and move on. It felt as if my 17 year old girlfriend dumped me for a 31 year old guy. My hatred for the education system of Pakistan increased ten folds. Next year someone else got into Oxbridge and the cycle continued. These institutions only look good on pamphlets, advertisements and billboards, but one must actually go through the whole system to realize how flawed everything is. A school will advertise about how many students got As in their Cambridge result, but they fail to tell that those As are just one percent of the total student body. These advertisements do not mention the 70% students who either fail or get bad grades and have to give re-takes. 

Moral of the Story?
Now we come to the fun part: we idiots are all to blame. It is our fault that things have gotten out of control because we all succumbed to the deep pit of this system. We acted dumb and we whined but we did not do anything about it. I did my part by writing about and having countless fights with all the institutions that I attended. What part will you play? Will you let these leeches suck out more money or will you actually say NO for once. Education is supposed to be a birth-right of every individual but now people have transformed it into an expensive commodity. And then we wonder why our Pakistan society is declining? Private schools suck your money like thirsty leeches. Teachers and administration exploit our need for knowledge but do not give us the right kind of knowledge. They just give us facts but do not train us for independent thinking. On the other hand, the public school system is just another shame we have to stick with. 

Signing off,
Syed Shehroz Hussain

Sheeshaholic

I be so K3wL because I be smoking Sheesha at the elite cafe of Islamabad.

Sheesha came and brought with it the much awaited revolution. You do not need to attend any Jalsa for that, just smoke sheesha. Cough Cough.

I have had the opportunity to spend time in all the major cities of Pakistan. One thing that was common everywhere were Sheesha lounges filled with teenagers. They sit and chat and smoke their way into the night. That is so cool! NOT. Every teenager spends around 200 to 500 rupees during a single Sheesha session. Have you ever wondered how many people can be fed with the same amount of money? Ah well, how would you know because you have never really peeked out your window and witnessed a person carrying heavy bricks on his shoulders for a hundred rupees to feed his family of eight. Trust me and try thinking about how much money you waste on such useless activities. Trust me further and try giving a 100 rupee note to a random beggar and see how you feel. You will feel better than what you feel while smoking Sheesha. It's the expressions of surprise when they see the note which gives me a head-rush. This act of giving often intoxicates and eventually becomes addictive. Believe me, this addiction is way better than ANY other addiction you know about. 

I will not talk about the health issues associated with Sheesha because I am a sheesh a smoker too. My main aim is to make you realize how much time and money you waste in such an activity. Imagine how many books you would have finished reading if you had read instead of wasting time in a lounge. Imagine how many community service projects you could have implemented if you had actually used that time to plan a project to help the unfortunate members of our society. Moreover, think about the money you would have saved. In short, all the Sheesha smokers are idiots. Sorry to pop the bubble but you have been a useless citizen of Pakistan and you need to wake up for an actual revolution. Just by sitting and talking about the deteriorating conditions of Pakistan while making smoke-circles will only make things worse. Furthermore, just by attending a single Jalsa will also do you no good. I have noticed how attending Jalsas and smoking Sheesa has become more of a fashion statement in Pakistan. Please grow up Pakistanis. Stop destroying yourself.

(PS: I still smoke Sheesha. But at the same time, I give charity as well to balance the whole scenario)

No Comments

Learn to say "No comments." I swear it is the best phrase in the whole realm of English language. From awkward situations to sensitive remarks, it will save you and help you avoid the muddy pond of all that is bad. 

No Comments FTW.

We. Are. Slaves.

Long ago, Quaid-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah dreamt of a Pakistan where the Muslims would be free. Muslims of the Subcontinent were slaves of a foreign power; they were slaves of an alien law and they were slaves of a different religion. These Muslims were discriminated, oppressed and persecuted. Quaid-e-Azam wanted a free Pakistan for free Muslims. It will not be wrong to say that today’s Pakistan is exactly the opposite of the vision of our founding father, who dreamed of a liberal, progressive Islamic state based on the principles of justice. 

The question we should all ask ourselves is: where do we stand now? Is this the Pakistan our great leader wanted? ARE WE FREE? Unfortunately, the answer is NO. We are still slaves; slaves of of foreign TV channels, slaves of western culture and clothing, slaves of a so-called "modern" lifestyle, slaves of our own selfishness. Now the world has become a global village and we are still  discriminated, oppressed and persecuted on a global scale. Even now innocent people are dying just like during the days of Independence. There were extremists then and there are extremists now. The streets were red with blood then and the streets are painted with blood every day even now. Are we really free?Our soldiers die every day and instead of supporting them we criticize and insult them. People are falling deep into the pit of poverty and misery while WE sit and enjoy our luxurious lives. All these table-talks and long evening walks won't help us at all! 

Our Quaid weaved Pakistan with the threads of Unity, Faith and Discipline. He visioned us all following these three 'extremely important' principles. Are we following them? We are not at all United. The provinces are divided and fighting amonst themselves. More provinces are being demanded further dividing Pakistan like pieces of a puzzle. Navy, Army and Airforce have issues with each other while our government departments are not at all cooperating with each other. We have lost faith in our country, in our potential, in our resources and in our selves. Many of us are even losing faith in our perfect religion. We can reign over the world if we believe in ourselves and in the soil of this beautiful country. We can rise and become the best if we just have some faith in our color GREEN. Discipline is only taught in primary schools and we easily forget all about it when we enter the practical Pakistani life. Starting from something as small as throwing garbage on the ground to something as big as not following the constitution, we are quite indisciplined. Constitution is our code of discipline but the legislation, judiciary, army, media and masses play around with it like some cheap china-made toy. 

Dear countrymen, there is still hope if we wake up now. Before our Independence Muhammad Ali Jinnah saw a people full of deep, hidden potential. He saw them tarnished with struggle and pain yet they were still headstrong and ambitious. He saw their zeal, zest and hunger for freedom and success. And then he crafted Pakistan for them. Dear countrymen, the blood of those strong people still run in our veins. It is because of this blood we have still survived and InshAllah we will win our Freedom--AGAIN. 

.

Thoughts of a Sun

The mighty God, with a thought, made me proud and bright;
I was, in the whole universe, a vibrant, a magnificent sight.
Every thing in the skies, with eyes weak, lowered their gaze;
My radiance was bold and wild, with beauty I was all ablaze.

With clay, then my Lord, fashioned mankind so small and weak;
The Angels cried, this  man flawed, on Earth will havoc wreak.
The whole creation had to bow down to this being so imperfect;
My God said, "don't be a Satan and your warmth do not reject!"

For the love of my Creator, I  bowed down to a being unworthy;
For this mankind so imperfect, even I had to dim my envied glory,
For it was God's command to help this ungrateful bag of flesh
Without prejudice and  pride I must provide daylight and food fresh.

Oh mankind mortal, what is wrong and why don't you understand,
You were just born and today you wrought destruction so grand.
You kill and let kill; you sleep and let die; you laugh and let cry.
I ask you oh flesh, are you so flawed and insensate? I ask, "Why?"

I am the mighty Sun, without which you are nothing and no one;
Even after your atrocities, I am to provide; God's will be done.
If I had free will and power, I would have turned you all to dust.
Because you are a shame and you let the given Principles rust.

A Letter to "Pakistanis"

Dear Pakistanis,

How are you? I hope you are doing great in your homes in front of your television sets. I have often heard you all criticizing the status quo of Pakistan and it's "citizens." Yes, the word "citizen" is put in quotation marks because I am being sarcastic-very sarcastic. Are you really a Pakistani citizen? For me you are nothing but citizens of your own homes and comfortable lives. As for your criticism, to me its nothing more than an immobile child crying for milk; all the baby can do is just scream and cry. Have you ever thought about getting out of your own cocoon? 

How are your schools, colleges and offices going? I am sure you must be enjoying high quality education. Or lunch breaks. And parties. And good food. Not to mention the comfortable rides you get to your destination in your own warm cars and jeeps. Or even taxis.

I am doing okay here. I ride the bus every morning with my hands numb and my feet stiff. Its very cold you know. But I do not know where am I going. Sometimes I go to the roof-less school and sometimes I just go to the market for work. It just depends how much food we need at my home. Oh don't worry about me, I am surviving. Or maybe you never worried about me since you are already busy in your own close-to-perfect lives. You don't care if I survive or not. You just care that you are popular in your city or your neighborhood.

Dear countrymen, the problem with you all is that you enjoy your lives and get good education. You squeeze from Pakistan but you never give back. A few remarks about politicians here and a small donation there is utterly useless. A few small school community service projects and visits to orphanages is nothing but a mockery towards Pakistan and those orphans. We don't need a one-day sympathy visit or week long lessons on English. All we need is that you be a citizen of Pakistan and fulfill your own responsibilities. Have you ever thought how much tax your father gives? Have you ever considered what impact an extra light bulb in your room would have on the poor neighborhood outside your city? Have you ever thought how much money you spend in a single visit to Hardees or a Halloween party? I run my whole house with that amount of money. Sometimes with even half of it.

I have been hearing the word "revolution" and "change" a lot these days. Some new politician gives you hope and you go crazy after him. I don't care. For me they are all the same. For me YOU are all the same. Useless. Selfish. Ignorant. Idiots. Just talking about revolution and visiting a single 'jalsa' is not going to bring any sort of change. YOU have to change YOUR OWN SELF before a change in Pakistan. Otherwise, this so-called change will be short-lived just like it was temporary in the history of Pakistan. You have to realize that to truly help Pakistan you must gaze inside your own flesh and see the mountain of flaws that lie in there. Putting pictures of a politician on your Facebook or talking about politics on your Status is nothing but an example of your personal laziness and incompetency. 

I wish I could love you all but I hate you all for being so apathetic. I love Pakistan but I despise the people in it. Hear me and save your self. Pakistan right now is no different than the Age of Ignorance of pre-Islamic Arab. You are going down the path of destruction but I know you have enough money and resources to simply move to another country whereas I will die on these streets for YOUR mistakes, arrogance and ignorance. But remember, one day may come when your blood will be shed in other countries. You are a Pakistani and Pakistan should be your final burial ground. Don't run away. A Pakistani can never be a coward.

With love,
A poor citizen of Pakistan,
Waiting for you,
To do what you have to do.