Blaming the government for most, if not all of our problems has been an age old fashion. We, as a society, as a country, have become habituated to criticize the government for corruption, pot holes, dry taps, mosquitoes, epidemics, illiteracy, unemployment and what not. And it’s obvious that we do so because it’s easier to blame the government rather than correcting ourselves.

Have you ever considered that you too, have a hand in most of the problems you face in your daily life? (But you thought you were the victim, right?)

Have you ever considered that as a citizen, you also have certain civic responsibilities to take care of?

It seems easy to blame the government, because when you criticize the government (MLAs, Councilors’, MPs, Authorities and Bureaucracy) you get support from most of the people, because just like you, they too, don’t want to accept their responsibilities.

You say the roads are dirty. Who littered? Your MLA?

You say the drains are blocked? Who threw poly-bags into them?

You say the drinking water doesn’t reach your home. Who misuses and wastes water?

You say your city experiences the worst traffic jams ever known. Who encroached the road?

Agreed, there have been some corrupt people in most of the governments so far, who have been looting public money, and are responsible for many issues in our lives, but blaming the government every time you face a problem…do you feel it’s the right thing to do?

You should not forget that there are non-corrupt people also, who work for the betterment of the country.

Before you blame the government, you need to see if you have taken care of your civic responsibilities or not.

I would like to share with you one incident to make my point clearer.

Back in 2010, I visited Subharti University in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, for delivering personal development training classes to B.Tech students. One room had been allotted to us for keeping our belongings etc.

One day, we ate some snacks in the room. My fellow teachers littered the room with waste. When we were about to leave, I took a poly-bag, and put all the waste in that.

One fellow teacher interrupted “Sir, please don’t bother. The cleaning guy will take care of all this.” But I insisted, and did what I should have done. I threw the poly-bag in the dustbin.

I have the freedom to eat whatever I like, as long as I clean my shit. I can’t expect anyone else to do that.

That’s the real deal. You expect the government to clean your shit.

You want smooth, congestion free roads but don’t want to give up encroachment.

You want the city clean, but don’t want to give up littering.

You want clean drinking water but don’t want to give up habit of wasting water.

You want to cross the road walking on zebra crossing, but rarely think of pedestrians when you drive.

You need to understand, that the government and you, both have certain limitations.

You can’t do BIGGER things since you have the power to do smaller things. (You can’t make a flyover or road, while the government is perfectly capable of it)

The government can’t do smaller things since it has the power to do BIGGER things. (You can’t expect your MLA to come and throw the wrapper of ice-cream you enjoyed in the nearest dustbin. Only you have the power to do it)

You and the government, both are equally important. And the country progresses when both works together towards a common goal-Development.

So next time, when you feel tempted to criticize the government, stop!

And ask yourself the question-Have I taken care of my civic responsibilities today?