When everyone talks and none listens

Greek philosopher Zeno (490 BC-430 BC) said, "The reason we have two ears and one mouth is that we may hear more and speak less."
The observation laced with the law of nature seems to be oxymoron in the context of Bangladesh. Nobody in this country wants to listen. Instead, we get overtaken by the irresistible urge to speak from the very age when we can savour the joy of talking. The trait continues to develop as we mature. We just keep on talking, sermonising and exhorting -- no matter whether or not one is paying attention to us. We love to blabber on. It has long become our national passion.
Politicians, much admired intellectuals, civil society members and diplomats -- everybody appears to be performing a great task by delivering their endless spiel.
Who doesn't want to enjoy a speech, a discourse or a session of talks? These are critical to a nation's healthy growth, because they contribute to the shaping of the people's ethos, their Zeitgeist and, finally, their identity. In order to be credited with this distinction, those who occupy the dais ought to know some essential prerequisites: brevity, the ability to remain focused on the subject being discussed and humility. Unfortunately, few of our speakers stand out with these attributes.
Let us pay a visit to the level of the masses, and start with a public office responsible for ensuring utility services. A different kind of 'talk show' awaits us there. The person who is supposed to listen to your problem is engaged in telling his colleagues an 'interesting tale' about how a wedding reception got foiled over a trifling incident. He may have noticed you, but feigns that he is unaware. His colleagues weigh in with their own bits of fun, some bursting into laughter. The tale is followed by a pretty long episode of a similar nature told by an elderly gentleman. It's a monotonous story. A few of his previously animated colleagues start yawning. You start getting blue with anger. But since you are experienced enough and have the urgency to get a particular job done, you try your best to hide your feeling. At one stage, the tale draws to a close. The person sitting behind the desk looks up, and displaying all the fatigue at his command, asks, "Yes, your problem?"
Nothing works in the public offices. The boss keeps talking about raising the standard of the staff's performance, at times giving them a strong talking-to. Nothing works. The urgent files do not move.
The politicians speak of the virtues of honesty, patriotism, showing respect to law and many other angelic qualities. Inevitably, they beat about the bush. The sermons' essence gets lost in the maze of verbosity. People become confused. The only reason for this lies in the fact that the exhortations or the series of spiel do not have any appeal to the people they are meant for. It has long been obvious that none wants to listen to others in the country. Instead, they themselves start talking, or, soliloquizing -- to be precise.  
shihabskr@ymail.com