Smart governance?

How good it was to see the word 'smart' used correctly in the beautifully-written article 'Smart Governance' in the edition of February 24th! One of the chief tasks of those of us who are concerned with moral education everywhere is, surely, to change what people mean by 'smart'. The writer defined 'smart' as 'simple, moral, accountable, responsible, transparent' and went through each of those words describing how it should work in Bangladesh today, especially in government.
The message that too many children get today about what it means to be 'smart' is warped and twisted by what is presented to them by the people and media they know. Some think that it is 'smart' to avoid punishment by lying and blaming others. They think it is 'smart' to defend their friends from punishment also and thus friendship becomes merely the unquestioning obedience of the weaker to the stronger. (They must be asked, “Will you still think it is 'smart' to defend your friends when they use drugs or carry knives?”)
At school, some think it is 'smart' to cheat and copy and thus get marks and grades that do not reflect their true ability and, sometimes, teachers and parents, who know what is going on, think it is 'smart' to look the other way. Above all, it is considered 'smart' to be rich and not to bother about whether the means of getting rich are fair or unfair.
Some think it is 'smart' to tease, harass and even persecute those who are seen as weaker than they are. On the same day as this article, there was shocking description, in the 'Point and Counterpoint' section, of the behaviour of Saudi Arabian students who think it is 'smart' to go round the streets, harassing 'foreigners' - by which they mean those who are not Saudis - and even beating them up.
I had a worksheet for my students on 'How to react when bad things happen to you'. One way is 'aggressive', another is 'passive' and the third I had written as 'smart' - but I quickly realised that this word had different meanings and had to re-write the worksheet with a definition! Nevertheless, they quickly got the idea and did some excellent work for me with illustrations from their own lives. I learnt a lot about the realities they live with today.
Every person in society needs to do something to re-define this term. Those who think it is 'smart' to smoke cigarettes - or drive a car when they are 14 -must be given some facts about health and safety. Those who think it is 'smart' to grope a woman on a bus should get thrown off by men who do NOT think so. If pupils think it is 'smart' to assume their home tutors, parents, big brothers or Class Prefects should do their homework for them, then they have to be told it is NOT smart but stupid! If a government department thinks it is 'smart' to accept a charter or report and then ignore it, they have to be disillusioned. If a builder thinks it is 'smart' to replace the cement recommended by the architect by lower-quality cement and to pocket the difference in price, he must be discovered, named and shamed along with those who failed to supervise him. (The Englishman supervising the building of the Pakshi Bridge was up at 2.00am to check the quality of the cement being poured into the uprights!) Those given new jobs in government departments where corruption is re-emerging causing a number of well-funded NGO's to be fed up, cancel their projects and leave Bangladesh if they think it is 'smart' to ask for luxury cars, it would surely be 'smart' to offer them one of the numerous confiscated ones from the last party in office!
Some villagers noted that each upright of a bridge being built near them had 6 steel cables in it instead of 10 and reported it and it had to be rebuilt. A poor farmer developed a new kind of seed that grew well in his area. Now THAT is 'smart'!
What the author implies Above all, it is considered 'smart' to be rich and not to bother about whether the means of getting rich are fair or unfair.
He is right: if all of us are not a great deal 'smarter', how will the better Bangladesh ever be built?