68 years ago a jewel was obtained by a number of extraordinary people who sacrificed their all for its attainment. It was embellished, caressed, adored and glorified. A few small dents here and there were fixed and plans to repair the major flaws were carefully drafted. It was engraved with the blood of those who laid their lives for its achievement and protection. It was carefully guarded from the clutches of miscreants. When the elders grew old, they passed it on to their children like a precious heirloom meant only to be polished, guarded and kept safe from everything that damages its luster.

But soon the jewel fell into the hands of those who exploited it for their own selfish means and when they got what they wanted, they left it to rot. They didn’t think twice about the struggle that was put in for its protection. They didn’t look again at the blood of the martyrs that still gleamed on its surface. Only when the odor of the rusted jewel began affecting their lives did they realize what they had done.

Excuse me for being a bit dramatic but for me Pakistan is nothing short of the most precious jewel that was secured by the Muslims of the Sub-continent. And no one but us is responsible for the rust that has gathered on its once radiant surface. For a nation on the brink of chaos, we seem awfully patient. A few protests, textual criticism and a number of banners are a thing of the past. We are beyond that now. We need change and we need it now.

But change does not stumble upon any society by chance. Neither is it thrust upon it. No. It is created after one wins a rigorous battle with not only the oppressors but also with himself. The problem with us is that we do not want to make sacrifices. We will definitely use our strength to participate in protests and vote for the person we deem fit but we are not ready to BE the change we want to see.

I recently came across a quote that stated: Nothing significant happens until a pattern is broken. Our nation has been following the same pattern for decades. And here I’m not just talking about voting for the same type of government time and again, getting frustrated by its incompetence, regretting, protesting, waiting, voting and then repeating it all over. Here I’m talking about us as individuals.

We are so afraid to step out of our carefully molded cocoons that we’ve forgotten the most important requirement of change: it comes from within. We can never change a society, let alone a nation, if we cannot bring ourselves to change. We are corrupt and extravagant. We want poverty to end but we cannot bring ourselves to stop visiting designer stores and donating that money to the deprived instead.

We want a government that gives us scholarships and invests in our ideas but we are not selfless enough to visit villages and let a necessitous child savor the joy of being taught. We want peace and unity but our hearts are entangled with spite for people belonging to different sects. We want steady jobs and high pays but our idea of protest involves burning vehicles and shops that serve as the only source of bread and butter for some people.

We visit posh cafes and order food we can’t finish while we discuss how the children in rural areas are starving because the government can’t spare any money. We want law and order but we prefer to bribe our way out of a challan, avoid taxes and steal electricity instead of paying our fair due. We are proud of the cities and sects we belong to but we want to unite as a nation. We are living double standards. We want someone to take us by the hand and show us the difference between right and wrong.

That is not how change comes. We need to stop lying to ourselves. A perfect Pakistan will be made by perfect Pakistanis. Anwar Sadat said: He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality. How can we harbor corrupt thoughts and hope for a pure nation? Let’s first focus on the change we need to bring in ourselves and we shall then be fit to criticize, judge and chose a worthy leader; a leader who will be working to rebuild a nation in unison with people who know exactly what they want.

Let’s be Pakistanis that deserve a perfect Pakistan.