Pity the Nation

October 26th, 2008 by Kashif Aziz ( 1,807 Views )

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My friends and my road-fellows Pity the Nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion. Pity the Nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, Eats bread it does not harvest, And drinks a wine that flows Not from its own winepress. Pity the Nation that acclaims the bully as hero, And that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful. Pity the Nation that despises a passion in its dream Yet submit in its awakening Pity the Nation that raises not its voice Save when it walks in a funeral, Boasts not except among its ruins And will rebel not save when its neck is laid Between the sword and the block. Pity the Nation whose statesman is a fox, Whose philosopher is a juggler, And whose art is the art of pacthing and mimicking. Pity the Nation that welcomes It’s new ruler with trumpetings And farewells him with hootings, Only to welcome another with trumpeting again. Pity the Nation whose sages are dumb with years And whose strongmen are yet in the cradle. Pity the Nation divided into fragments, Each fragment deeming itself a Nation. – Khalil Gibran

Pity the nation whose people are sheep, and whose shepherds mislead them.

Pity the nation whose leaders are liars, whose sages are silenced, and whose bigots haunt the airwaves.

Pity the nation that raises not its voice, except to praise conquerors and acclaim the bully as hero and aims to rule the world with force and by torture.

Pity the nation that knows no other language but its own and no other culture but its own.

Pity the nation whose breath is money and sleeps the sleep of the too well fed.

Pity the nation–oh, pity the people who allow their rights to erode and their freedoms to be washed away.

My country, tears of thee, sweet land of liberty.

            -- Lawrence Ferlinghetti<!--2e83b8832b06f74cbd135cc363081b08--><!--2e83b8832b06f74cbd135cc363081b08--><!--2e83b8832b06f74cbd135cc363081b08--><!--2e83b8832b06f74cbd135cc363081b08--><!--2e83b8832b06f74cbd135cc363081b08--><!--2e83b8832b06f74cbd135cc363081b08-->

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9 Responses to “Pity the Nation”

1

Shakir Lakhani
October 26th, 2008 14:37 GMT
Kashif, you made the same mistake most Pakistanis do. the name of the poet is KAHLIL Gibran (not Khalil Gibran). He was a Maronite Christian who migrated from Lebanon to the U.S. and lived there all his life. Most Pakistanis think he was a Muslim. His book “The Prophet” was not about any prophet, it’s a collection of his own sayings, like the one you’ve quoted.
2

Kashif Aziz
October 26th, 2008 20:27 GMT
Whether Kahlil or Khalil, its still pronunced Kha-leel, as per the Arabic notation of his name:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalil_Gibran
3

Ice Awan
October 27th, 2008 00:04 GMT
Give a name to my prison, solace in death
Life may go on without me, why cry
A lifetime, more than life itself
I will rise from dust, to paint the world red again
```
                                                         Ice Awan
```
This is what i believe in
4

Shakir Lakhani
October 27th, 2008 12:45 GMT
“Pity the nation whose leaders do not pay what they should pay to their country.” Would it be possible to find out how much income tax Zardari & Nawaz pay every year? This data was available to the public many years ago, why not now?
5

Ice Awan
October 27th, 2008 23:19 GMT
hahahaahahah …. i tell you something interesting …. back in the time of Benazir’s second term in office ….. Zardari’s income tax paying was made public … and to someone’s horror.. a Lt Col in Pakistan Army was paying more taxes than him :d
hahahahahhaha
hahhahahaahhaha
come on people laugh with me please ..
6

Kashif H
November 7th, 2008 16:10 GMT
Why does the ruling elite need so much money? Is it because they think its their right that they have served their country (self proclaimed!?!) or is it that they want to keep living like a King / Queen after their term ends? I really cannot believe the audaciousnes of such folk. In a country where people are begging for food, children are for sale, people who had a shack before are out on pedestrians…I think pakistan should be a monarchy so power struggles ends and with it $$amassing as well. We all serve one family and so that family will not be in a hurry to loot and plunder the country. They will be here to stay…. happily ever after… present regime would fit in perfectly………. any votes here folks!!!
7

Samiuddin
November 27th, 2008 20:08 GMT
pity the nation which hangs and humiliates its heroes
and above all pity the nation in which criminals sit in judgement over its heroes.
8

Shakir Lakhani
November 27th, 2008 22:29 GMT
Pity the nation where those who don’t pay taxes decide how much honest tax-payers should pay. Pity the nation where a minority crooked elite rules over the majority.
9

Kashif Hussain
November 27th, 2008 23:50 GMT
Pity the nation that sympathizes with criminals and whip the innocent. The nation where justice is for sale and so is the children of the poor.

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