‘I want to believe,” said the poster on the office wall of FBI Agent Mulder, the intrepid crusader out to prove to the world that aliens do exist, and that the government is involved in a huge conspiracy to cover up their presence. His mission was lonely and sometimes maddening, since very few people believed in his claims, and proof seemed to elude him at every turn.
Ever since coming to live in Bangladesh, I have often thought of Agent Mulder. No, not because I am in search of aliens here, but perhaps something just as hard to find – optimism.
Most of the people I have spoken to since arriving here seem to be deeply cynical about the prospects of the country. Many have asked me whether I was “thinking straight” when I left a good job in Germany to come here. The general refrain is that nothing good is happening at the moment and things are about to get worse, because of political turmoil, rampant corruption, etc.
What is most disturbing to me is that I have encountered this line of thought even among the younger generation – students and young professionals. Many of these young people I have spoken to come from either middle class or upper middle class families. By all accounts, they have had fairly comfortable lives.
They are armed with a decent education, and their families have provided them with some level of financial security. These are exactly the people I expected to be full of optimism and great ideas on how to transform the future, not only their own but that of the country. And yet …
Of course there are some wonderful exceptions to the rule, but overall, this seems to be true.
I am not claiming that people in Bangladesh, even those coming from affluent backgrounds, have nothing to complain about.
Life here is not exactly easy. People here have probably seen too much go wrong in their life-time to have much faith in things changing for the better, and this attitude has been passed on to the next generation.
Cynicism, by itself, is not necessarily a bad thing either. It can force people to stay on guard against easy/false answers, it can encourage critical thinking and even inspire creativity. But, excessive and persistent cynicism is a very destructive force. It drains all impetus for action and creates lethargy. As a nation our level of cynicism seems to have crossed the danger mark.
The political sphere is an obvious example of it. The level of mistrust between the political parties is breathtaking. History seems to provide support for their attitude since no party has ever treated the other with good will. But this leaves us in a vicious cycle from which there is no exit.
Our perception of politicians is deservedly bleak. We love to talk about what a disappointment they are and how they are ruining the country. But I would argue that our political atmosphere is a more accurate reflection of our society than we would like to admit. They only reflect the cynicism and dysfunction one can find everywhere in our country.
People, in general, are very reluctant to speak well of others. Even if someone manages to create something good, to innovate in spite of the obstacles, others are quick to find ways to criticise it, and tear it down. We don’t seem to realise that this not only cripples the chances of success of these positive initiatives, which are already scarce, but also discourages others from trying. Being critical but non-constructive appears to be the one thing we truly excel at.
This might seem like a frivolous example, but let’s consider the state of graffiti in Dhaka. Graffiti is usually the medium of the disenfranchised to express their discontent over social injustices. However, it can be also a platform of creativity and artistic expression. In most countries around the world graffiti artists have found astonishingly creative, often beautiful, ways to make incisive commentary on social ills.
However, looking at the graffiti scrawled on the walls of Dhaka one cannot help but be disappointed. It’s rare to find any artistic expression in the angry slogans that litter the surfaces of the city. It seems to me that while we are certainly upset about many things, our discontent is directed only towards causing injury, not towards creating something better as a response.
I think the state of the graffiti here speaks volumes about our general attitude towards the problems we face as a society. However, if we want to create a better future, for ourselves, and the country, then we need a radical readjustment of our national psyche.
The first step would be to rid ourselves of this toxic cynicism. We need to be able to believe in the possibilities of each other, and of ourselves, as a collective. We need to be able to be critical without losing faith or giving up. We need to be able to redirect our energy towards creating solutions from critiques meant to injure.
This is a difficult thing to do. It will require a fundamental shift in our habits and our orientation towards the world. The reality of our country constantly challenges our ability to stay optimistic; however, we need to remember that our survival and well-being depends on it. We have to keep reminding ourselves that the onus is on us to come up with a better alternative if we are to criticise anyone else’s initiative.
Objectively speaking, the obstacles Bangladesh faces are great, but they are not insurmountable; many countries around the world have overcome worse. However, we cannot look to our leaders, political or otherwise, to do it for us. Our leaders are only a reflection of who we are as a society. The change has to start with us.
Perhaps I am naïve, but like Agent Mulder, I also want to believe that we can tap into our inner optimists to create a better tomorrow, for ourselves and for Bangladesh.
