Did you see the video that’s gone viral of that lady getting abusive at the soldiers standing on duty because she was stopped for a convoy to pass?
Amazing. Totally unbelievable. And to add to it she kept shouting that she’s a Gen Z who won’t stand by and tolerate ‘nonsense’.
Yes, I was angry when I first saw the video. Maybe because Kargil has a special place in my heart, both as a veteran and a human. It’s more than just a name on a map for me.
It left me rattled. I had a few things I’d have told her had she been there in front of me. Yet my training taught me better. It made me a better person.
So, I waited a few days to collect my thoughts before I decided to write about it. And there are certainly a few things I want to talk about.
Firstly, this convenient anger directed at the soldiers, and the defense forces in general. Every time there’s something that involves the forces, people jump and blame them, often without an iota of comprehension of the ground reality.
It could be a security movement or an exercise in progress or just troop movement. It’s because they practice so thoroughly during the peace time, that they can perform to this extent of perfection when the time comes.
Do she or her types know the ground realities of those places that she’s paid her taxes to visit? Or how many soldiers, including some from the same generation, have lost their lives keeping her safe enough to go on vacations?
Secondly, and the more ridiculous of the reasons, she demanded she be allowed to go through since it was because of her taxes those soldiers were getting paid.
People assume we are living off free, mooching off the taxes paid by the hard-working people of the nation.
For your information, the soldier doesn’t have to pay his taxes because it gets deducted at source before he or she gets his salary.
Paying taxes may fund public institutions but they don’t give her, or anyone, ownership over the people serving in them.
Next, this sense of entitlement that she exuded comes from the very same freedom she’s enjoying, which is being provided by those soldiers who stopped her from enjoying her vacation.
What does it mean to be a Gen Z?
Is it the entitlement to instant convenience, the casual disrespect shown towards people performing difficult duties, or the tendency to mistake freedom of expression for freedom from responsibility?
I don’t think that’s what the whole generation represents.
The problem isn’t that she’s Gen Z. The problem is the belief that being young, vocal and angry, with a smartphone in your hand, gives you a right to disregard people doing their jobs.
If anything, feel gratitude for someone is doing the difficult work for you.
If you feel so strongly about everything, then why not engage in nation building, be of constructive use to those who are trying to do the same? Patriotism need not visit you twice a year.
Come up with ideas to help. Every little gesture will add to the movement. Build something. Teach someone. Develop. Volunteer. Create. Channel your energy into something constructive.
Instead of instigating negativity and becoming puppets, try to use your social media skills for better purposes.
Most don’t want to join the forces because they know the truth – it’s no walk in the park. It’s a tough and demanding life.
So, my sincere request is stop picking on the forces just because they’re an easy target, because there’s no fear of retaliation.
Remember that not every inconvenience is an injustice.
Freedom doesn’t mean everyone else has to move out of your way. Sometimes freedom means having enough maturity to understand why you sometimes need to move aside.
