Pakistan's elite has often turned a blind eye to the fundamental problems within their own country; recent events, however, have forced them to rethink their indifference.

I do not consider myself as representing the thoughts and motivations of the "common man," so to speak, in any way. A large chunk of the social class that I hail from would agree with this statement — we watch the news from the comfort of our homes, and occasionally flip the channel to something much more aesthetically pleasing, such as, say, the latest episode of Gray's Anatomy or a new Bollywood number which just happens to hit the charts. While we're being driven to our posh crème-de-la-crème private schools, SATs, college applications and teacher recommendations are our primary concerns and not, let's say, politics.

Yes, these do occasionally find their way in the everyday banter of school-life, or in polite company as part of casual chit-chat over a cup of hot tea, but the purpose is not to enlighten. To be seen as politically aware sometimes becomes our fashion statement, and that is a sad fact. However, in spite of the sheltered lives that the majority of the social sphere that I belong to leads, and their many elitist tendencies, we have begun to care. Not a little, not when its convenient, or when our business obligations allow us to, but a lot.

When do the hard facts become personal?

How does the constituition held in abeyance, media curbed, lawyers beaten up and jailed, human rights activists taken in for questioning, PCO [Provisional Constitutional Order] giving the executive a wide discretion to act in whatever manner he thinks right — how does this translate into our lives? I do not think that question could have a tangible answer; the explanation has to be in abstract terms because, if truth be told, regardless of how many "Top Stories" or "Breaking News" come out on the topic, none of them will tell you what it feels like.

Knowing that a sea of people are crawling through the muck everyday, motivated by basic instinctual things, such as hunger, takes your attention away from the fineries of life. One never thinks of taking ballet lessons or walking the dog, or gardening, or going to the theatre, because in the words of Arundhati Roy, "worse things have happened." The majority of my country is just fighting it out to stay alive — and that is all. Notions of "changing the world" and other related jargon is never incorporated into the vocabulary of the young generation. They've grown up with this sense of deprivation, even if they haven't been directly faced with it.

It's in their blood, in the back of their minds, forming part of a collective unconsciousness, almost. Everyday you slip deeper into this silence, with the newspapers bringing forth one ugly headline after another, and something vital and alive within you begins slowly to wither and you become part of a disillusioned crowd of people. In the backdrop there is always that sense of suffocation. If the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who is supposed to be the spearhead of the rule of law can be literally dragged off by is hair by a common police constable, where do I stand? This is the general sense. If basic rights are to be disbanded under the reasoning of "it's for your own good," one wonders what warped version of "good" the government has in mind.

My point is that if the privileged classes are so deeply affected by this crisis, imagine its impact on the basic grass roots level. Who do these people turn to for support when they are treated like third-class citizens in their own country?

On a completely different note, however, it is important to remember that negative stereoptyping and sensationalism pervades every facet of the media: Whenever Pakistan in mentioned in any context, one always sees images of fundamentalist mullahs brandishing rifles, burqa clad women scuttling away into their homes or drug addicts smoking joints on the street corners. I want to categorically state that this is not what my country looks like. Yes, we have our share of problems, but do not censor the good bits just so you could come up with a heavily generalized story that is easy to digest.

Please hope for a better chapter to begin in the history of my country. We need prayer.