Sunday, June 3, 2012

"You're either with us, or against us"

This is a very popular line, used by many people many times. This line and its variations are used by many leaders and their followers in polarized situations. This line represents a philosophy that is also present in religion, politics, and part of the human psyche, especially during any debate or discussion about some sensitive subject or topic. Often this means that if the person or a group is not interested in joining your team then they are considered enemies. This can turn into a very rigid attitude and also propagate hatred towards people who don't agree with our views. Nowadays we see this attitude a lot in various forums and discussions, people are becoming intolerant towards others' views and opinions.

President Bush used a similar line after the tragic incident of 9/11, people were very emotional at that time, and this statement polarized world opinion. It's not that terrorism never existed before or was not an issue before 9/11, but that incident resulted in taking this issue to a totally different level. Terrorism is a very complex issue and has many reasons and angles associated with it, it's not easy to see it in black and white color. This statement unfortunately polarized opinions about a particular religion (Islam) rather than highlighting the issue of terrorism and looking for reasons behind it. 

During our course of life, we come across many situations, that teach us many things these teachings along with our formal education form our beliefs and opinions. Everyone doesn't go through the same experiences in life, people also come from different regions and places so it's obvious that different people can have different opinions about the same thing. The problem of conflict of interest and clash of opinions between individuals and civilizations happened many times in the past. It also resulted in many wars and massacres and it's still happening, it seems we still haven't learned our lesson from them. 

Why do people feel so upset if someone challenges their views and beliefs? Debates and discussions are ways to share our knowledge. Normally in debate, no one is right or wrong, people are just sharing information by making some rational argument. Everyone has freedom of expression, they can express their views and opinions in democratic ways at the same time others also have freedom either to agree or to disagree with them. Most people know about their rights but very often they forget that others also have the same rights. We should understand that sometimes there can be more than one truth, more than one correct answer to the same questions. If some group insists that only their version of the truth is the absolute truth and all other versions are wrong then a situation of confrontation arises. This rigid attitude is the reason for whatever hatred we see in today's world. One group of people hates other groups just because they don't subscribe to their views and ideas. The conflict between capitalism and communism, issues between countries with nuclear arms and countries who want to acquire them, and communal riots are a few examples of this intolerant attitude towards each other.

I think recent outbursts by some social groups in media and Facebook against some of the episodes of Amir's show Satyamev Jayate fall into this type of attitude. We should understand that some articles, posts on blogs, movies, or shows like Amir's ongoing show on TV have certain purposes, they want to highlight some issues or problems or want to discuss only certain aspects of some big issue. Many times it's not possible to cover all aspects of certain issues in one single article or episode because of so many reasons and people should understand this. They have full right to disagree with the contents or put their side or even prove the contents of the show or article wrong by giving counter-evidence. But just to criticize that particular person for bringing out that issue or highlighting that problem is totally wrong. In all these emotional outbursts that particular person becomes the target and the main issue gets sidelined, I have seen this happening many times. If people don't agree with anyone's opinion just show the proof and prove that he/she is wrong, it's a very simple thing to do but people choose to shut that person up. It's easy for them to try to shut that person up rather than solve the issue, accept the mistakes, or tackle the problem. I don't know when people will mature enough to understand that we have many issues in this world that need to be addressed. Rather than trying to cover it up or take criticism personally, we should try to encourage debates, and discussions about these problems and try to solve them together.

Whatever work Amir or any other person or many organizations throughout the world are doing is not easy, they are highlighting some sensitive issues, and want to have debates about these things. Sweeping the issue under the carpet and pretending that nothing wrong is happening or has happened in our society, religion, family, or country is a very easy thing to do, but unfortunately, that doesn't solve the problem. It takes courage to show the mistakes of our ancestors and take on some established institutions or beliefs. Many topics are sensitive and people don't feel comfortable discussing them, but that doesn't mean they should not be discussed. Let's stand in support of such individuals or organizations and if we don't agree with their views then let's try to prove them wrong by showing proof against their argument rather than shutting them up.

Thanks for reading and please share your views.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing at vvt1974@gmail.com)

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