Regressive Progression

1. A six figure salary.
2. A top of the line luxury sedan.
3. An MBA from an Ivy League college.
4. Excellent school education from a reputed school.
5. Brought up in a loving family with excellent moral values.
   
   AND THEN YOU PARK YOUR CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD WAITING FOR YOUR FRIEND TO HOP IN WHILE YOU TALK ON THE PHONE
   
   Wouldn’t you say that with that MBA degree and the strong childhood background, one would have some sense of civic values? Or does driving a Mercedes S-Class entitle you to use a public road like the footpath through your backyard garden?
   
   I remember studying Civics in school. And honestly, I used to detest writing the exam. I used to ask myself, “How in the world is this goddamned subject going make any difference to my life?” “What do I care about ‘duties of a responsible citizen’?” Now after these many years, the practice (or the lack of it) of what was in those textbooks, is seen in daily life.

I will take the scene at a traffic light to show what I mean:

1. Turning without indicators
2. Not allowing pedestrians to cross at traffic lights
3. Pedestrians crossing without the signal being green
4. Honking when there are still 30 seconds to go for the light to turn green or when you know you are stuck in 200 vehicles traffic jam
5. Lack of lane discipline
   
   The list goes on…
   
   Here is another scene that I encountered while on a long distance train, which portrays the other spectrum of the society. This was the general compartment:
   There was this group of students, carrying IIT Coaching textbooks, who entered the compartment without tickets. Then they take out their ‘Made in China’ cell phones, and suddenly there are songs blaring throughout the whole compartment. Not that the passengers aren’t glaring at them for playing the songs, still I heard everything from Backstreet Boys to Bhojpuri hits, with a sprinkle of “We don’t need no education”.
   
   Another site to behold was such. A family, of three kids and parents, was sitting across from my berth. By the looks of their clothes and their manner of speaking, I would say that they were pretty poor. Throughout the journey, the kids were looking at others eating a variety of goodies and I could see the desire in their eyes. So I was really taken by surprise when I saw the father take out a nice sleek slider Nokia (couldn’t catch the model). Well, things would been still acceptable but then I saw the mother answering another call on a Reliance (recognized it by the ringtone). However, the cherry on the cake was that when the smallest of the kids wanted to go the loo, the mother just slid his pants and asked him to piss under the berth!!!!!!!!
   
   The point I am making is that when it comes to the educated upper section of the society, it seems like having an MBA or owning a car is a trade-off for civic sense and values. And similarly, towards the lower half of the society, having access to more amenities, service and opportunities is the trade-off. But in all this self-development and empowerment of the masses, aren’t we forgetting that what is most required is the imbibing of basic social and civic values.
   
   It seems like this lack of civic sense permeates all sections of the society. We hear about rapes being committed in all strata’s of the society. There are corporate frauds at one end and cattle theft in the other. We see the same traffic sense from rickshaw drivers to BMW owners. We are all the same in our core values, irrespective of our postal addresses.
   
   We are progressing, but regressively!!!!!