Thoughts on Life-Zachary Latif
A couple of weeks ago I had a highly memorable night.
My fellow interns had "guys night out", a face-saving euphemism for the general inability to bring along a single girl and a mere reflection of the fact that the banking industry is soaked in testosterone, with the general plan to drink from midday til midnight and then club away. This was to mark the end of their careers in banking and a return to student life.
Of course no one had factored Murphy's Law, and thereby it was a foregone conclusion that the night would be somewhat of a disaster. The private drinking party was held without much fanfare however when they went down to West London to find a decent club it hadn't apparently dawned on the organisers that no decent club would accept a group of 10 guys. Furthermore unfortunately it seemed I had joined the party precisely when Murphy struck and the intern group had just been spurned at the door despite pious supplications to the bouncers.
I must admit to the credit of the organisers that there were times when it seemed that success, which would have been a milestone in the history of straight clubs, seemed near however at the end defeat was admitted and everyone resigned themselves that there would be no clubbing that night. Words cannot describe what it is to be the only sober person in a group of 10 inebriated, disappointed and frustrated guys. It was amusing to see fellow interns in a completely different light and the diverse effects of alcohol on their personality. For some it reinforces the general character, for others it removes inhibitions and alcohol is marked in reducing men to plain ridicule as was evidenced by the case of a particularly smart lad who was swaying his head back and forth mumbling like a toddler. And disturbingly for a few there is a particularly dark light to them after consuming alcohol as though the substance had corroded their outer layer and revealed the true nature of their being.
Russians (especially in corporate dealings) distrust those who don't drink since it is believed that they are trying to cloak their thoughts and intentions. After observing fellow interns I find myself convinced as to the sagacity of this age-old adage. Needless to say considering I am not inclined towards alcohol in any meaningful way, though this abstention could be unwise considering the latest research, it means I'll never earn the trust of a Russian. Indeed a few years ago a Japanese friend emphatically told me that by not drinking I was losing half the pleasure of life. I always remember her argument when contemplating over the issue of alcoholic consumption and I continually maintain that irrespective of the putative pleasures I would not want to be dependent on an exogenous, potentially harmful, chemical additive for the pleasure in my life. Since if I were to give in to that line of reasoning then what ethical objection would I have to narcotics like cigarettes and drugs?
Anyway I would be the first to admit that my puritanism on this matter and others, for instance my extreme aversion to pork and preference for halal substances (cultural throwback from my days in Pakistan), are peculiar to my own character and reflection of my obsession with achieving perfection in manner and form. Of course considering that I am unencumbered from any dietary laws of my faith, satirists hold that my religion came into existence so that people once again from the Islamic world would know the pleasures of pork, I am surprised by my voluntary refrain from some of these activities.
In the same manner I think that the Indians are on to something when they advocate vegetarianism since Pakistanis, voracious meat eaters (according to some Pakistan was created to preserve the sacred right of eating beef), are plagued by heart problems, ill-health and are in general fatter than the ever-slim Gujaratis and vegan\veggie Hindus (in my experience meat-eating Hindu Punjabis also tend to be quite large). Though I won't be going as far as Zack of Procrastination and start cooking vegetarian dishes (living with parents means I have no need to cook) I decided to substitute needless consumption of meat for healthier vegetarian alternatives. Thus though I would never forgo delicious Pak-Persian cuisine, which is invariably meaty, in DrKW cafeteria I prefer the hot salad alternative, sprinkled with merely a light dusting of chicken, as opposed to lasagne or the lamb and peas dish.
Of course recent and past experiences with alcohol has led me to form general observations on alcohol and Western society. The drinking culture has very deep roots in England and it is a national pastime, which lacks the cultural sophistication as seen in France or Italy.
Particularly for the Anglo-Saxon culture alcoholic consumption is the very cornerstone of everyday life and is something that is looked forward to at the end of the day. It highlights the disastrous and isolating effects of the excessive individualism as practised in Western society today.
Alcohol has a somewhat deleterious effect on the human body by relaxing mental inhibitions however this escapist feature is in effect a societal sanction that shields the populace from the futility and drudgery of their lives (much like soma in Brave New World). Since many are ill equipped to cope with stress alcohol serves as a remedy and a convenient form of venting off the pressures of life. Thirdly the socialisation skills and ways of the British society prevents true interaction and friendship since there are so many psychological barriers, which can only be eroded by alcohol.
For instance London has become such a fast paced society that something has to always be done, there must be an excuse to meet up; an "activity" to provide the adequate justification. Therefore going to the pub is the only way people can meet up and interact with a human dimension as opposed to a functional relationship. Therefore the isolating effects of individualism is considerably eased by alcoholic consumption and that is why I've been told many a time by friends that their life would be qualitatively changed if they didn't consume alcohol. Watching television, alcohol and the dozens of other activities is meant to mitigate the depressing life of the British people and the hollowness of their familial and friend relationships. Without these diversions the British people would have to live up to this gaping emptiness, which is why there exists the other extreme whereby eccentrics try to find the meaning of life in religious cults and abstract philosophies.
Fundamentally modernity for the British has meant the sacrifice of a large part of those human relationships, which form the bedrock of third world countries.
From experience I can refer best to Pakistan and contrast it to Britain. Pakistan may be a developing country, with a far way to go, and the amenities for even the British middle class is at times superior to the pursuits of the upper crust of Pakistan (so goes the saying king in hell or a poor man in heaven).
For teens there are no decent night clubs in Pakistan save for a few extreme parties held in private venues and there isn't really much to do in the way of entertainment as there is for the British youth. This actually holds particularly well in Islamabad whereby there are only two entertainment centres, where kids can hang out and enjoy themselves, and in Lahore the past time is to visit restaurants. I'm proud of my national culture but I, like many others of my class and generation, find Pakistani television to be dreary and therefore one can't turn to television for entertainment. Therefore Pakistanis stress on qualitative human interaction and affinity to provide depth and amusement to our lives. Visiting one anothers houses daily, at every possible instance, and playing sports on the street is embedded in the way we live our lives.
Our culture is particularly congenial for deep friendships and mutual generosity since otherwise in isolation Pakistanis would perish from boredom. Thus for most Pakistanis migrating abroad, especially to the West, is a deeply distressing experience since the fast paced isolated life is in dire contrast to what we are used to. Pakistanis are culturally conditioned to be very social creatures whereas the British and Westerners in comparison are reserved to the very core of their being.
Thus that is why Muslim nations don't particularly have a drinking culture since they turn to meaningful relationships to provide an emotional framework to their lives. This comes at the cost of privacy and individualism but then what good is privacy if the life one leads is hollow.
Ps: Of course Pakistanis do drink alcohol for instance I am the only Pakistani I know, for my age and background, who doesn't actually drink. But despite a fledgingly alcoholic culture amongst the upper strata there doesn't exist the same psychological dependence as evidenced in British life and alcohol is not the crutch to veil thyself therefrom.
PPs: As displayed time and time I don't necessarily agree with the concept of individualism. It could be directly correlated with the death of the family and the high divorce rate in the West since individualism is inimical to compromise. The cultural ethos of the West is to break ties with ones family after 18 by living alone however that is the critical age whereby one must make the necessary compromise to provide the adhesive to joint family living. If at the most rebellious age of one's life one is able to maintain unity then there is no doubt that in the future one will be able to make long lasting and firm commitments, which won't crumble with the passage of time.
Individual desires are naturally a manifestation of our unique nature as self conscious and aware human beings however taken to an extreme it will naturally lead to the perpetuation of personal selfishness. That is precisely why I am a fervent capitalist since I am of the belief that strong societal and familial bonds should provide that ties that hold in our modern age as opposed to government welfare and social programs. Unobstructued capitalism has been established as the most efficient mechanism for the creation and distribution of wealth however it is best tempered, not by government regulation (since it is impeding a natural desire for personal gain which will always be counter productive), but by a strong commitment to family ties and communal obligations.
For instance the ever cogent Jane Galt of Assymetrical Information has provided a brilliant discussion on the nature of childcare and the dillemmas facing it. I would argue however that this isn't so much a matter of women working outside of the home, which is an ancient and established phenomenon since our hunter gatherer antecedents, but rather because the decline in the extended family has made it impossible for women to rely on the traditional network of relatives and parents to provide the strong familial network, which is a necessary complement to every child's life. The natural role of the grandparents to provide complementary parenting is required to ease pressure off the parents and to develop closer ties between the generations. The same line of reasoning is with regards to the rise of government pensions since age-old parents can no longer rely on their children to shelter and reside with them in their old age.
Zachary Latif 09:13
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