Act with Responsibility!

Over the last few days, i was subjected to the height of how powerful can exploit others.

On Friday evening, I reached the railway station early... Waited in a long queue and finally made to the ticket counter. The lady there asked me to move away or pay Rs.4 worth coins. I didn’t have any. So, she threw the tickets at me and asked me to leave without giving any change.

On Saturday morning, i was in yet another railway station. This time also i waited patiently in the ling queue. The lady behind the ticket counter wanted me to pay the exact amount, which I didn’t have. She sounded so annoyed that she kept my ticket apart and said she will give only if I render with the proper amount. But where will i go for that? My train had reached by then. The longing to reach home at the earliest coupled with the fear of losing the train accelerated my anger. And thus we started yelling. I went red in anger. Finally, one Iyyappasamy gave coins for Rs.10 and the issue was solved. Miraculously, I was able to jump into the running train.

No, the story is not over yet. Parents and i went to take photo for Aadhar card. There was huge crowd, but we had our token number. We waited for three hours and started realizing that people coming after we did were actually going back after taking photos. That was irritating. There was only one in-charge and he was just not speaking. He was completely disorganized and was in the pit of a mess. A three of us raised our voice and made him take the photos in the order of token number.

The point that i am trying to make is that people in power should carry some responsibility too. Everybody can shout and no one is crippled from raising their voice or pointing out their right. We don’t do this on because we don’t want to attract problems; we want a peaceful way out.

Over a span of two days, I came across three different persons... They all carried ample authority and their approach was varied. If one lady was focusing on clearing the queue and giving tickets, the other one was concerned about her ego. The guy was clueless and he was acting callously. I should say that none of them played their role correctly. They all took advantage of people like us in one way or the other. At the end of the day, I stand exploited.

This is where I wish that people understand the brilliant words of Voltaire. He said, “With great power comes great responsibility”.

So all you powerful people, act with responsibility. Like you, we also work hard to earn a penny. We also find time as a precious yet scarce resource.

Please be empathetic and considerate. Please think... How would you feel if somebody behaves in the same way towards you? Hence, never behave in a manner in which you don’t expect others to behave towards you!