We, Pakistanis are a very emotional people, our responses very extreme on everything, whether we face it individually or collectively. The case in point is our win in the Twenty-Twenty World Cup and, then, Naseem Hameeds gold medal in the South Asian Games. In the former case, each player was given over a million rupees in cash plus plots, in the latter case over rupees two millions have been given to the sprint queen and the receptions at Presidency, Governors Houses are continuing. The flip side of the same coin are our dismal performances at the Asian Games (not a single gold medal) and the pathetic show by our cricket team in Australia recently where they lost all matches on the trot; the entire nation is asking, from peon to the chairman PCB, to resign and do so immediately. Our attitude in other fields is just as extreme, be it political, social, religious or ethnic. A housemaid is killed, the case is unresolved, but we are out on the streets for rowdy protests, damaging public and private property without a second thought. Either we are overjoyed or dead-depressed. And either way, we take it out through aggression in which we cross all limits. Where is the 'moderation that our religion teaches? Yes, winning is great and losing bad. But we should be concerned on a loss and prepare harder for the next encounter. These outbursts of uncontrolled emotions are unbecoming of a civilized people. -MUHAMMAD AZHAR KHWAJA, Lahore, February 13