OPPORTUNISM
“Opportunism”
is defined as the practice of using situations unfairly to gain advantage for one’s
own self without thinking how one’s actions will affect other people. A shorter definition is worded as ---the
taking of opportunities as and when they arise, regardless of planning or
principle.
There
is an element of immorality in the practice of opportunism. Opportunists are fair weather friends. They
can abandon faithfulness and loyalty in no time. For them personal gain is
preferable to group loyalty. In this way, they are materialists. Morality and principles of steadfastness are
not indispensable for them. They are unprincipled turn coats.
Opportunism
can also be interpreted as exploitation, unscrupulousness, making hay while the
sun shines and placing personal motives above ethical considerations.
People who have no regard for sincerity,
unselfishness, faithfulness and loyalty believe in the following words of the
English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616): There is a tide in the
affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the
voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries; and we must take the
current when it serves, or lose our ventures.
Unethical
opportunism can be dangerous. Its consequences can be both morally and legally
harmful. For an immediate undesirable gain, there can be life-long suffering.
Repentance can improve the situation a little but cannot undo the consequences of immorality
lock, stock and barrel. Once a wrong-doer becomes infamous, he remains so for a
long time to come. The fruits of greedy opportunism are bitter. They must not be given a chance to ripen.
It
will not be wrong to say that it is better to be ethically loyal and poor than
unethically disloyal and rich.
Finally,
this quote: Some people out there will do all kinds of unscrupulous tactics to
get what they want even if it’s wrong, as long as it fits their agenda.
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G.R.Kanwal
20 August 2025
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