Picture this: A person rushes to you to get your signature and email id on a petition. When you ask about the cause. They just shrug their shoulders and nonchalantly answer that its for PETA something and their 'cause' for doing it is because they'd been promised a t-shirt!!!
So much so for a cause.
I was privy to this scene at my ongoing college fest where PETA people have put up a booth and are promoting in their now well chronicled jingoistic rhetoric. The fact that I disagree with their ways is a different story and more on it sometime else. The point here is that the conscious of supposedly educated people is so darn cheap that it can be bought with a measly dirt cheap t-shirt!!! That PETA resorts to such gimmicks is a concern for me. The youth is happy when given badges, stickers and t-shirts is really hilarious considering the fact that we call ourselves 'concerned citizens'.
The signatories too will not be unscathed in my verbal assault. Non-vegetarians sign the petition without giving it a thought that killing animals for food is antithetical to the PETA philosophy and that this act of theirs is no more than a farce. The same criticism is associated with this set of citizens too. That being associated with a cause or for that matter an NGO is cool is a mockery of any movement. Most of the youth takes up such seemingly cool causes only to leave them mid way is a pattern I've observed and no amount of vociferous denying can turn the facts head on. This, not taking away from those who really feel for some matters and devote time and efforts should be respected though.
We live in an era of politically correct statements where a big number of grey haired men and women would like us to believe how we, the younger generation, are more into social causes than their generation was. The fact though is that the number of devoted people is really really small.
Fellow countrymen of yore, let us respect the spirit of social causes and movements and the people who are driving it. Unless we feel very strongly for them, lets refrain from joining them just for the reason of looking cool or peer pressure for that matter. Your just abiding laws and paying taxes on time does not make you a second rate citizen.
At-least don't sell your souls for a cheap t-shirt to look cool!!!!!
PS: This one's for my pup Milo who I'm missing too much :(
Agreed. Its sad to see such things happening around all the time. The worst part is even when we do our bit to make the world a better place, it barely even counts and no difference is made. All that it does is gives our mind its piece of peace. Why don't people live to be themselves?? Why do they need to do things which don't even make any sense to them?? Why can't they come out of their myopia?? If not for Heaven's sakes, at least for Earth's sakes... people: "Wake Up and get some meaning to your life"
Apt! Most of our generation is after this .. doing something for the society .. join some NGO .. tell others .. put down in their blogs and some fools would term it as a "kool" thing to do without even asking them what actually they did ..and at last it just becomes a part of your resume and nothing else.... It has become nothing more than spending your weekend differently .. thats all!