Boorish Behaviour.

I have been reading Australian Newspapers online regularly, for over three months now. The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, and The Daily Telegraph are the main papers I read. My interest got stirred up by the Cricket matches that India played Australia on their soil. My reading was not confined only to cricket matches, but also to know Australian’s life style, culture, and how the media covers them.

Well the coverage and reporting by media is no different than in other parts of the world. They highlight crime, Politics, and international news on its front pages, along with briefs on sports. It was articles on cricket I focused.

The Indian tour of Australia just ended, with India winning the One Day internationals series over Australia. It was a big moment in the history of Indian Cricket. There was great euphoria over this win, with the Indian cricketers becoming millionaires with prize money showered by the Cricket Board.

What was sad about the tour was the behaviour of very few of the players on both sides. The Australian Cricketers are known for sledging on field to apply mental pressures on players to disturb their concentration. Some of the Indian Cricketers, when provoked, retaliated, bringing the game to acrimonious levels. Some of them got away with reprimands, and with fines. The Australian spectators were seen booing the cricketers, and the media blowing the issues out of proportion. Some of the newspapers were highly one sided, and often biased in reporting.

Though the cricketers exhibited excellent skills, and raised their performance to incredible heights, their overall behaviour was annoying, and not worth speaking about. Several Australian Sportsmen called for “fundamental courtesies and manners” to prevail on and off the field.

This boorish behaviour is not confined to Cricket arena alone, but indulged even in parliaments of countries, by its members, often coming to blows inside the house in front of the speaker, disregarding the appeals for calm. A few days ago, Speaker of the Lower house of Indian Parliament, in deep anguish, said some of the members are finishing democracy!

I read reports of such behaviour in the parliaments of communist countries, and some of the other countries as well. The members get away with such behaviour, claiming some immunity or the other.

Some of all this is shown on TV and the scenes evoke response of amusement, annoyance and sheer repulsion.

No wonder, such behaviour percolates to all levels of the society, to homes, thus causing strained relations, and aberrations in cultures.

I would blame the education system that has been infringed by politicians with lop sided priorities in their governance. With a will to win at any cost, greed in acquiring wealth quickly, the morals necessary to uphold certain traditional values have been consigned to dust.

The words “Discipline” and “Self-Discipline” are being redefined. The disciplined breed are being referred as persons not competitive, laid back, introverts, noncombatants, and above all dullards!

What a pity and tragedy!

An author of a book (I do not remember) writing about discipline in public, said that “discipline is not only how to speak, what to speak and when to speak, but also how to dress, what to dress, and when to dress is also important”.

These lines are far away and inaudible to those believing in irrational, boorish behaviour.