Building a new perspective
It is interesting to see as current affairs are moving towards an unknown. I have lived a politically opinionated life until now, following the saga of Imran Khan and his charismatic personality. Early on, as a child, I saw my father being a pro-Nawaz Sharif person, while my mother was inclined to follow Imran Khan. Even though he was very early in his political struggle, he used to come up with an eye-opening narrative. More than anything else, his way of simplifying complex political scenarios and government structures in his speeches has attracted millions of young followers. Anyways, back to the point that I have witnessed political clashes in my household that have allowed me to see Pakistani Politics from two completely different perspectives. If you know the last decade of Pakistani Politics, this story is not new and has been experienced by many around us.
So both of my parents are in awe of their leaders and storytelling abilities. As I am writing this, it is funny to note my way of calling Imran Khan a storyteller, which we all agree that he is. If someone else had called him just a storyteller, I would find it offensive. But this was an old self of mine. It is different today.
While my parents provided two different ways of approaching Pakistani politics, my husband added yet another different perspective. This happened due to his upbringing in a different state than mine. I am raised in the Punjab part of Pakistan, and he belongs to Sindh.
A big breath to take here because marrying someone from a different state has its stakes. I’ll keep this for some other time since that is a different story altogether.
Despite having our differences, we somehow managed to enjoy a singular political opinion as opposed to my parents. True that, my husband and I have been wholeheartedly following Imran Khan ever since his party took off back in 2011. Like many overseas Pakistanis, we also believed he is our only hope to put Pakistan back on track.
He is still the same. But what happened to me?
For many reasons, I don’t feel the same for Imran Khan as I used to.
First thing first. Okay, it came late, but I am not a political analyst. And just because Pakistani Politics is in the discussion, you don’t need to hype it up. Take a chill pill.
The problem, though, is that my household is now living in the same conflict that my parents have been living in. Two strong personalities have two different opinions.
Oh yes. The story is about having a strong personality yet living happily with your strong partner. What did you think? I am not giving away my reasons for shifting opinions. They are personal for now. No, Not at all. I am NOT following Mr. Shareef or her daughter. Nor am I apolitical because I learned not being political is also political.
The right way to put it is that I am not as fascinated by Khan as I used to be.
Hence, despite trying to avoid debates still happening between us and in front of kids, which is healthy as long as “we accept each other.”
Easier said than done. But this is the lesson I am grateful to learn at this stage of life.
The mantra is to listen. And listen. And listen.
Then speak a little, listen again, and then leave the debate open-ended without attacking each other personally. I haven’t mastered this phenomenon yet, but I have seen it work many times.
The problem happens in our culture because one of the partners feels the other partner needs to be more politically literate and aware to have a different opinion. This is the problem of feeling lesser than. And one can imagine how this attacks the other especially if the receiving end is another strong personality.
