My dear Pakistanis, please get yourselves some education

“I always tell the truth. Even when I lie,” says Tony Montana in Scarface. Comparable to him are Pakistanis, Jinnah’s countrymen: brazen enough to poke fun at their own miseries.

It’s simple. “Education and only education” should be the slogan.

Now, let me define it for those of you who agree. ‘Education’ my friend, is not when you graduate from Pakistan’s top university since your father was a rich man, and also not when you stare at ‘her’ in your academy. Of course, its meaning is more crucial for those having a perception to have attained it.

Exempt others for a while. Yes, an illiterate fat guy with a thick mustache can organize a pathetic opening ceremony for his new bakery on Ferozepur Road in Lahore. He can attract hundreds by playing cheap Punjabi songs. He can also sell substandard food. And you can’t really expect him to vote for an educated man. Also, it’s useless to argue with him. So, exempt him.

Similarly, some famous “maulvis” also enjoy their presence in my country. Some with big tummies sit in the country’s Parliament in Islamabad. And the only bullet they can fire is that of ‘sects’. Exempt them, too.

But you, the one sitting in a Mustang during a car show at Royal Palm Golf & Country Club, you need to make the right choice. Because you – the one attending school every day – can bring change.

I am talking to you, the one cooking amazing meals every day for the family. I am talking to you, the one studying engineering in Peshawar. I am talking to you, the one teaching kids at a primary school in Karachi. I am talking to you, the one working for a multinational company in Azad Kashmir. I am talking to you, the one dating her boyfriend at Gloria Jean’s Coffees. I am talking to you, the one flying Pakistan’s fighter jets. I am talking to you, the one thinking about leaving Pakistan. I am asking you, the one who never voted for change. I am talking to you, the one reading this piece.

I hope the meaning is clear now. It’s not about the school you attended, but the character you have built. And it’s never about dress, but the mind you wear.

I will soon buy a mosquito repellent, for my room since they bite me at night. I will be safe. They are insects without education.

However, I am not sure about Pakistanis. For God’s sake, educate yourself.

Source: The Nation