DailyPost 2368
BROWNIE COUNTRY
We have all heard of scoring brownie points, at some point in our life, we have knowingly or unknowingly tried this art. Its human to put oneself in good light, even if its symbolic or might be a tokenism performed in some specific circumstances. Few are habitual, some people do quite a few times and a large number of people might do be a few times. But think of a situation when large chunk of the powers that be and their hangers on, their publicity and perception apparatus keep making relentless effort to score brownie points. This mass scale exercise, being conducted vociferously in any country makes it a Brownie Country.
Might be we are leading example, and also an epitome of it. We can see it happening in every TV debate on prime-time television every day. They have crossed the stage where any on those can even score brownie points. Each one knows the other and audience needs it’s fun and the channel its ad money. Somebody who is charging brigade of this brownie points competition is the anchor. He or she shows the way to win the brownie points match. It is laid down in a manner to favour one side, and with the neutrality of the anchor in question, every anchor intervention helps the pre-decided brownie points winner.
If the scores in brownie points competition decide your performance, then where will such organizations land into. Think of the country taking that plunge and informally be declared a Brownie Country. One upmanship of the unhealthiest type is most sought after practice in a Brownie Country. Social Media is a perfect example of it. Whole life has been brought on to this anti-social medium and has heated up the brownie points market. Individuals, mavericks, influencers, institutions, organizations, and governments are neck deep into it. The political leaders, spokespersons, IT cells, media wings and political parties lock, stock and barrel are sucked into it.
This is their real world. Having not seen the real or deliberately disassociated having seen its grind, the whole lot has taken to this art, as fish takes to water. Hard work, expertise and perseverance working in tandem to achieve or create something seems to have become the story of the past. The existing ones of this genre are presumed to be outdated and not in tune with the times. Having seen the present world through this perspective, they use the same prism to view the past and also the future, when it is so skewed for the present world, of what worth would it be either be for the past or for the future. The governments are another example of the same malaise. Government is not a marketing machine, whatever may be the party, it further creates an ecosystem for systemic decline and successful creation of a full-fledged Brownie Country.
BROWNIE WORLD IS BOTH A COMEDY AND A TRAGEDY OF SORTS, DEGRADATION OF EVERYTHING WORTHWHILE.
Sanjay Sahay