THE dangers of being wrong about
something are quite
obvious. We don’t have to waste time about that, though we have to
remember that even in our mistakes and failures, something good can
always come out if we just open ourselves to the ever wise and
omnipotent providence of God.
The perfect example of this case would be St. Paul who in
the middle of his persecution campaign against the early Christians
had his most extraordinary conversion, and later became one of the
most zealous apostles of Christ. From an intense hater of Christians,
he became their most fiery lover and defender.
It’s rather the dangers of being right and correct that we
need to expose, because they are more subtle and beguiling, and
therefore harder to recognize and to avoid.
What brought this thought to mind was when other day a
bunch of small Grade 1 girls in the school where I work approached me.
They were quarreling over something which I don’t remember now. But
what struck my attention was that each one was citing what her mother
or father or lola or teacher said to justify what they said or did.
I was actually amused more than anything else to see their
little drama. Each one wanted to prove that she was right, and that,
to me, was the real problem. No one wanted to be wrong, or to admit
that the others also have a point even if their views were different
and even contrary to that of each one of them.
And the thought came to me that what these little girls
were doing is actually what is also taking place among much older
people who ought to know much better. The latter can go through a lot
of bashings and mudslingings, invoking all sorts of principles that
they consider infallible, universal and absolute in scope.
Among the dangers of thinking that one is right in
something is that he tends to become closed-minded and rigid. He finds
it hard to consider the views of others, especially if they are
different from his. He can get obsessive with an idea, a perfectionist
sans charity.
With these dangers, it would be highly probable that one
can become impatient, uncharitable, intolerant. He can end up always
irritable and uptight. It would not be long before he isolates himself
from others, and develops all kinds of eccentricities—what we usually
describe as weird or strange.
Since he is prone to be judgmental, he is quick to brand
and stereotype people and events, lazy to go any deeper in his
knowledge of people and things, and so he can end up being simplistic.
What would worsen this is when he thinks he is always
right and there’s nothing that can prove him wrong. The
self-righteousness then becomes firm and even invincible. But there’s
a certain bitterness that eats him. What drives him is not love but
more of hatred, envy, insecurity.
The funny thing about all this is that this kind of
attitude, mindset and lifestyle can be shared by a good number of
people. It can become first as a subculture, and later on if not
corrected, it can become a dominant and prevailing culture of the
people.
There can be an apparent unity, more of a façade really,
with hardly any genuine substance inside, But what they can have in
common are mere show-offs of arrogance, pride, vanity and mutual
envies.
We have to be ready to do battle against these dangers.
While it’s always good to be right, we have to make sure where that
righteousness would come from. If it’s not based on God who is love
with a love that was shown to us concretely in Christ, whatever
goodness or righteousness we claim would always be suspicious, at
best.
The righteousness that comes from God will always be
open-minded, eager to listen and dialogue with everyone and to adapt
to any situation. It is willing to be patient and to suffer when
contradicted even as it proclaims and defends itself in season and out
of season. It would know when to speak and when to keep quiet.
In our current political exchanges, it would be nice to
remember these dangers of being right and to be guarded against them.
It would be nice if we learn how to be charitable in our arguments,
avoiding insults. ad hominems, non-sequiturs and all kinds of
fallacies, sarcasm and ironies. This can only be the right way to
arrive at a most fair appreciation of issues and personalities.
Let’s hope we can be mature and not childish in our discussions.
obvious. We don’t have to waste time about that, though we have to
remember that even in our mistakes and failures, something good can
always come out if we just open ourselves to the ever wise and
omnipotent providence of God.
The perfect example of this case would be St. Paul who in
the middle of his persecution campaign against the early Christians
had his most extraordinary conversion, and later became one of the
most zealous apostles of Christ. From an intense hater of Christians,
he became their most fiery lover and defender.
It’s rather the dangers of being right and correct that we
need to expose, because they are more subtle and beguiling, and
therefore harder to recognize and to avoid.
What brought this thought to mind was when other day a
bunch of small Grade 1 girls in the school where I work approached me.
They were quarreling over something which I don’t remember now. But
what struck my attention was that each one was citing what her mother
or father or lola or teacher said to justify what they said or did.
I was actually amused more than anything else to see their
little drama. Each one wanted to prove that she was right, and that,
to me, was the real problem. No one wanted to be wrong, or to admit
that the others also have a point even if their views were different
and even contrary to that of each one of them.
And the thought came to me that what these little girls
were doing is actually what is also taking place among much older
people who ought to know much better. The latter can go through a lot
of bashings and mudslingings, invoking all sorts of principles that
they consider infallible, universal and absolute in scope.
Among the dangers of thinking that one is right in
something is that he tends to become closed-minded and rigid. He finds
it hard to consider the views of others, especially if they are
different from his. He can get obsessive with an idea, a perfectionist
sans charity.
With these dangers, it would be highly probable that one
can become impatient, uncharitable, intolerant. He can end up always
irritable and uptight. It would not be long before he isolates himself
from others, and develops all kinds of eccentricities—what we usually
describe as weird or strange.
Since he is prone to be judgmental, he is quick to brand
and stereotype people and events, lazy to go any deeper in his
knowledge of people and things, and so he can end up being simplistic.
What would worsen this is when he thinks he is always
right and there’s nothing that can prove him wrong. The
self-righteousness then becomes firm and even invincible. But there’s
a certain bitterness that eats him. What drives him is not love but
more of hatred, envy, insecurity.
The funny thing about all this is that this kind of
attitude, mindset and lifestyle can be shared by a good number of
people. It can become first as a subculture, and later on if not
corrected, it can become a dominant and prevailing culture of the
people.
There can be an apparent unity, more of a façade really,
with hardly any genuine substance inside, But what they can have in
common are mere show-offs of arrogance, pride, vanity and mutual
envies.
We have to be ready to do battle against these dangers.
While it’s always good to be right, we have to make sure where that
righteousness would come from. If it’s not based on God who is love
with a love that was shown to us concretely in Christ, whatever
goodness or righteousness we claim would always be suspicious, at
best.
The righteousness that comes from God will always be
open-minded, eager to listen and dialogue with everyone and to adapt
to any situation. It is willing to be patient and to suffer when
contradicted even as it proclaims and defends itself in season and out
of season. It would know when to speak and when to keep quiet.
In our current political exchanges, it would be nice to
remember these dangers of being right and to be guarded against them.
It would be nice if we learn how to be charitable in our arguments,
avoiding insults. ad hominems, non-sequiturs and all kinds of
fallacies, sarcasm and ironies. This can only be the right way to
arrive at a most fair appreciation of issues and personalities.
Let’s hope we can be mature and not childish in our discussions.
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