Who contributes more, teacher, doctor or politician?
In school we are told of the dignity of labor, the equality of man and his responsibility to society. According to our Careers Master, the fundamental philosophy of vocational guidance is that the job that a boy should take up should be compatible with his abilities and aptitudes. Viewed in terms of this ideal, each man, whether he be a teacher, doctor or politician, is contributing a share to society and all their contributions are to be considered equal.
In Asia, after independence, owing to the importance of leadership, the politician has come into the limelight. The conception of politicians as scheming slogan-shouting individuals has become obsolete. To us, a politician is a man who has the country’s interest at heart and who is more involved in achieving concrete results than in making empty speeches. We also have an inherent, vague respect for politicians because they are connected with government. We tend to think that the politician is more important because his work involves organization and planning at national level. Plato, the great Greek thinker, once remarked that in most trades, one requires skill – that to be a good potter, one has to learn pottery, to become a good carpenter one has to learn woodwork, and so on. He remarked regretfully that the only profession which did not require any training or skill was politics, and that the sorry part of it all is that the mistakes made in such high circles, could ruin a country.
Every country needs doctors. No country in the world can progress if its citizens are physically unhealthy. There is nothing the most brilliant politician can do in a situation like this. The doctor is often motivated by the sincere desire to help his patient. He has an abiding sense of human dignity and his integrity remains undiminished even when confronted with callousness and brutality.
The importance of the teacher lies in the fact that it is lie who is responsible for the training and education of the youth of the country. The future of any country depends on its youth, and much depends on the kind of education they receive. That is why a teacher’s role is difficult. He has to see to it that they get the training that will prepare them to be useful citizens of the country. He also ensures the moral and physical development of his pupils.
Many of us, I am sure, will remember the story of the man who was given three wishes and who asked for health. wealth and wisdom. The politician by ensuring prosperity is providing the wealth, the doctor, the health and the teacher, of course, the wisdom. In this not sufficient argument to prove that all three are equally important ?
