Read and be Fair

Many people today develop their ideas and their visions of the world based on the Media (TV, Internet …) or on what their families, friends or their favourites actors and writers say, without trying to check if these ideas are correct or not.

The problem becomes more serious when those ideas affect other people. Indeed, some intellectuals who belong to a cultural stream or a sect stick to their own ideas and start attacking other intellectuals only because they adopt different ideas than them. They also interpret wrongly what their opponents say and give a bad image of them to the audience.

Last week, I read a book where the author was attacking another writer fiercely, he even called him “hypocrite”. Frankly, when I started the book, I didn’t expect such an attitude from the author. His manner of discussing and argumenting wasn’t objective and I felt that he was partial and influenced by his intellectual current. That’s why; I decided to read a book for the other writer to have my own vision of things, and I was surprised, because I found that many of what the first author’d said wasn’t exact, because he focused only on the negative sides of his opponent’s theory and ignored totally the positive sides.

We can then learn from this that reading can help us:

• Compare different thoughts and theories and know the arguments of all parties concerned.
• Develop our own thoughts about a given issue without the influence of others.
• Be able to discuss any topic, because as we know different points of view, we can lead an objective and fruitful discussion.
• Be fair to writers by reading their own ideas directly in their books instead of receiving them from the Media or from other people.
• Be open-minded and accept the difference.
• Develop our critical thinking skills.

So let’s not be naïve and trust everything we hear. Instead, let’s read with a critical eye and look always for the truth.

Amal.

(Photos credit: Weight Scale via FreeDigitalPhotos.net)