Many of us must be tired of hearing ruling politicians tell us to be grateful for what we have in this country, and few of us are too blind to see that such talk is propaganda in the guise of fatherly advice, which again is infuriating because we hate the condescension.
They make it even worse when, in trying to drive home their point, they tell us to compare the life we have with situations in countries struggling with abject poverty or suffering the kind of social upheaval or political oppression that makes even the worst excesses in Malaysia seem mild.
Perhaps these politicians are so consumed by their determination to hang on to power that they forget what is taught in every traditional culture: gratitude is meaningless if it doesn’t push us towards better things. To show your parents gratitude for paying for your education, for example, you would be determined to learn as much as you can.
A truly grateful Malaysian would want to see his leaders striving to turn the country into such an economic success that it is ever ready to give aid to poorer countries so that other people can enjoy an equally good life. But no country can be that rich until it has achieved appreciable success in its fight against corruption, for instance.
So the truly grateful Malaysian is one who consistently calls for an end to power abuse because it militates against the effort to stamp out corruption, among other things.
A truly grateful citizen would eagerly lend his support to groups that fight for political, social and judicial reform because he would have a vision of his country joining the ranks of the world’s great democracies.
So, when a political leader tells you to be grateful for what you already have but does not encourage you to work hard for changes that would make things better, he is asking you to be complacent or to settle at being less than the best.
It’s unfortunate indeed that a few of our compatriots do not see through the ruse. They readily obey the call for pseudo gratitude and thus become complacent and unwilling to strive for excellence.
That is why we sometimes hear Malaysians, with pride in their voice, talking about someone being worthy of the title of Malaysian Dylan or Malaysian Pacino or Malaysian Maradona. It probably doesn’t matter to them if we never become the best in anything.