Intellectual cowardice dismantling community!

Therewas a time when commitment spoke louder than hesitation. In contrast, today’s prevailing culture instinctively retreats, quietly and habitually, from responsibility, decision-making, ideas, risks, and truth. Responsibility is no longer embraced but avoided, perceived as a burden born of fear, phobia, timidity, shyness, ignorance, self-doubt, overconfidence, false humility, superiority complex, inferiority obsession, indifference, incompetence, incapacity, evasiveness, tactical silence, intellectual stagnation, and blame-shifting.

Shifting and shirking responsibility has evolved into a peculiar art. It has become a game of hot potato, that no one wants to hold long enough to be held accountable. The absence of ownership is astonishingly cloaked in cleverness, justified by familiar fears, paraded as strategy or diplomatically excused in the name of pragmatism. Interestingly, even those long retired from positions of power often seek the limelight, though not always with a sense of continued accountability. There are, however, admirable exceptions.

‘Retreat’ simply means not stepping up, not owning, not trying, not responding when response is most needed. ‘They will figure it out’ is the common attitude and mindset of the retreater, which, in other words, is passing the burden to others.

While these moments may seem isolated or personal, collectively they signal the slow decay of a community, not through visible crimes, but through silent neglect and a chronic allergy to responsibility. Sadly, such evasive instincts are often mislabeled as cautious wisdom.

The ‘culture of intellectual cowardice’ has crept deep into the community.

Original thinkers: They are those who own and defend fresh ideas are increasingly rare. Quoting others or discreetly borrowing ideas has become the safer path, often seen among recently retired civil servants, legal veterans, and self-styled intellectuals labeled as ‘think tanks.’

A powerful former bureaucrat, serving in an advisory role to the government post-retirement, reportedly blocked a transformative welfare digitization proposal, not due to flaws, but because it was not his idea. That reflects discomfort with new thought. Such tendencies appear even in NGOs. Yet, inspiring exceptions still uphold the spirit of innovation.

Zealous indifference and psychological complexes are the norm. Indifference is now worn with zeal and even with aggression. People fiercely defend their right to ‘not care, not intervene and not contribute.’ When someone dares to step forward, they are mocked. This toxic mockery, and the moral apathy, silence even capable individuals. Add to that are the dangers of superiority and inferiority complexes. Some do not act because they think others should. And others believe they cannot. Both create the same societal vacuum. These are not just lapses in judgment, but deep ethical and social fractures.

Another pressing issue is the pretense of intellect and lack of renewal. A subtle yet damaging trend in public service and social spaces is the presence of, though not all, but significant number of, self-proclaimed intellectuals, retired bureaucrats, former CEOs, senior executives, in NGOs or public society platforms, joining with initial enthusiasm, and contagious energy. But when real challenges demand relevance, the unraveling begins. Rather than evolving, they remain trapped in outdated ideas and vintage vocabulary. Instead of acknowledging stagnation or personal limitations, they begin to grumble, never directly, always through veiled discontent. Such intellectual stagnation, when disguised as prestige, breeds passive resistance, stifles innovation, and dampens the morale of others. Worse, it plants seeds of cynicism right at the conception stage of community initiatives.

At the root lies a deeper truth: most people are not raised to live lives of inner authorship. They live borrowed lives, with borrowed ambitions, language, and courage. They consume, imitate, and perform, but do not originate, engage, or build. This leads to a societal flatness where no one is truly bad, but no one is genuinely good either. Everyone is merely present, functioning, but not shaping.

Who is responsible? There is no single villain. The rot is systemic. But it must be called out: The individual, for choosing ease over courage. The family background and brought up which valued conformity over character. The education system trains memory but not minds. The workplace is for rewarding obedience over ownership and society for punishing failure more harshly than dishonesty. The media, for amplifying drama while muting substance. Every system rewards retreat. Every ecosystem discourages depth. And so, we arrive at a society that has forgotten both the burden, and the beauty of ownership.

Let this not be mistaken for despair. It is a mirror held gently, but firmly. Responsibility is not some heroic act reserved either for young or old; it is a deeply human calling, especially for those who have lived long enough to know its weight. Courage, at every stage of life, is not in loud declarations or grand gestures, it lies in quietly staying the course when giving up or staying silent feels easier.

Elders, more than anyone, must set the tone, not by merely instructing, but by embodying a life of integrity and engagement.

A small, thoughtful act from any senior member in any organisation can inspire generations. Fear, imitation, or indifference cannot become second nature, just because age permits retreat. In a world obsessed with quick fixes and shortcuts, it is the lived wisdom that must light the longer road of responsibility. In the end, the opposite of cowardice is not flamboyant heroism but quiet and honest ownership. And that is where renewal begins.

Here lies yet another social paradox worth reflecting on. It is ironic how some, despite being healthy and capable, show more enthusiasm in spreading news of others’ illnesses than in offering help. They eagerly circulate such updates within families and social groups, yet when it comes to lending a hand or stepping up for collective responsibility, they retreat into silence.Worse still, when someone else dares to act or pursue meaningful work, these same individuals turn critics, grumbling in private, questioning intentions, or belittling efforts. But such cynicism does not require confrontation, it calls for quiet clarity.

One must neither indulge nor imitate them but simply continue with sincere conviction. In time, their noise fades, and consistently shines. True engagement speaks for itself, needing no defense or validation from those who have long chosen comfort over contribution.

A closing word from the mirror: This article is not an indictment; it is an invitation. To pause! Reflect! See ourselves! Many carry these inadequacies not out of pride, but through silent suffering. Why hold back when they could have spoken? Shrugged off when should have stood up. Imitated when despite having seeds of originality, lacked the courage to nurture them. Blaming others or circumstances, knowing deep inside, that it was their own retreat. To those silently wrestling with this, not for lack of ability, but because something inside hesitated, this is for them.

One need not prove anything to anyone. Yes, one owes it to oneself, not to shrink, not to coast, not to disappear behind old titles or past excuses. The world does not need perfection. It needs people who try. Who own. Who stand up, not because they are certain, but because they care. Redemption is not about erasing the past. It is about acting differently in the present. Responsibility is not a crown. It is a quiet promise: to be present, to be truthful and to be accountable.

Heroes are needed, but humans, who simply show up, are essential. Let that be enough. Let that begin.

Across age groups, from their 40s to even their 80s, many retreat into shells like cautious tortoises not for peace, but to escape the piercing gaze of genuine minds. To them, questioning friends, family, or society now feel like threats to comfort.

They withdraw not just from strangers, but even from the once-familiar voices of truth, choosing isolation over introspection, as if truth-tellers have become unwelcome guests in their lives.