Tolerance

Sitting in a class at one of the premier business schools of the country, right in the middle of a discussion on a controversial topic, religion, I found how chaotic our minds could be and how very small differences of opinion could bring up a burst of emotions that are most often not well-expressed. Although our constitution gives every citizen the right to speak one’s mind and practice his/her religion under Articles 19 and 20 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, what we need to understand is that we need to be tolerant of each others’ views to practically implement those rights. Tolerance does not mean accepting whatever others tell you to; but it certainly means letting others at least speak their minds while you listen to what others want to say. It is important for us all to realize that diversity is strength and in order to capitalize on that strength, we need to have the flexibility to listen to others’ opinions and at the same time remain firm on our viewpoints. Only this will lead us all to conclude an all-inclusive discussion that would have fruitful results.

What our society needs is constructive criticism and earnest implementation on a mutual decision. Until we all listen to each other, we would not be able to curb the feeling of alienation within certain sections of the society and would never be able to come up with a mutual decision. It is time we start behaving as a civilized nation in terms of our conduct, approach and attitude. In fact, this has become overdue and to fix things up, we need to take mature action-led tolerant behavior at levels within the society. Once everyone, or at least, most people start to make this attitude a part of their personality, we would be able to outgrow our petty differences and will be ready for serious development.