Tolerance

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E.W. Forster

Tolerance

Q. No. 1:         Why was the reconstruction needed?

        E. M. Forster wrote this essay after the Second World War.  He masterfully depicted the complexities and subtleties of civilization in those disorderly times.

            Wars have always been destructive.  They destroy not only the lives and property of a nation, but they also destroy the ideals and the ideological foundations of a nation.  Similarly the Second World War destroyed everything and left behind a looming shadow of "Chaos" and "Nada".  In this situation the whole world felt the need of rebuilding the civilization. The situation demanded that all people should get ready for the reconstruction of the world.  This reconstruction was bound to be physical, ideological and material.  E. M. Forster discussed the ways in which this purpose might be attained.

           

Q. No.2:          What was needed to rebuild the civilization?

            Civilization is something very complex.  It has its roots in different values and ideals.  These values make the civilization stable.  And if these values are destroyed, the civilization is automatically destroyed.

            The Second World War, not only damaged the world physically but it shook the moral, social and human bases of the world civilization too. People had no values; they had no code of life.  They experienced a strong sense of nothingness.  After the war, people felt the need to restore some values.  Different suggestions were promoted for this purpose.  Some people thought that love might be the force that could bring the stability back in the world.  But the experience of many centuries proved that love had failed badly in public affairs.  It had been tried again and again and it never produced the desired results.

            E. M. Forster thought that the basic thing needed for the reconstruction was a sound state of mind.  A mental state that could analyze the situation candidly, make plans and bring them into action. It was a mental state that could make a realistic effort to live with people peacefully and this thing could only be a tendency to tolerate others.  Tolerance was the only solution in the post war world.

Q. No. 3:         How should people live in post-war situation?

         In the post war-world people had to live with a different attitude.  They had to live with those people who had been fighting against them.  They had to share their social and public life with friends as well as foes.  After the war, there emerged some new parties, some new groups, new factions and some new sentiments in the population.  The people belonging to the aggressive nations might have faced the wrath of others for the misdeeds of their leaders and armies.  This reaction could have incurred the feelings of insecurity and resentment in the population.  The coexistence of different races, classes and nations could have become impossible, especially in the multi-national societies. 

            Then, the only solution was to tolerate each other.  If common people tolerate each other, the wars can never come in the streets of peaceful cities.  They remain in the military and political grounds and the common man is not influenced by their destructive powers.

            So in the post-war world, the only way of living was through tolerance.

Q. No. 4:         Discuss the importance of the tolerance?   

            This essay has been written by E. M. Forster, he discusses the nature, the importance and uses of tolerance in our modern times.  Tolerance means to accept the views of other people open heartedly and without any malice.  One should respect one’s own opinion as well as the opinion of other people.  It is the way in which we can create a balance between different ways of life.  We should adopt the theory of live and let live.

            Today the world is full of people.  Trade and quick ways of transportation have changed the world into a global village.  The boundaries of all countries have become flexile.  The whole Europe is changed into a European Union.  The nations are quickly merging into others.  In modern societies, different nations, races and classes have to live together. They cannot live with their prejudice and bias.  They have to be broad minded and tolerant. They should accept the rights of other to live freely.  So in the world where merit and abilities are the only standard, any fanaticism has no place.  The dogmatic and fundamentalist faction can prove highly destructive for the society and its peace.  The only solution for the peaceful co-existence of different parts of society is tolerance.

        The writer further says that there are not too many examples in history where tolerance has been used.  That’s why, if we look at the history of mankind, it is nothing but a heap of intrigues, conspiracies, murders, massacres, wars and fanaticism.  He thinks that the only way to purge the human condition is to flourish the spirit of tolerance in people.  It is the way of democracy and it has been advocated by almost all religions.

            There is another way to live in the world and that is the way of Nazis.  They believed in destroying everything, every object, every idea, every person and every theory that they did not like.  They exterminated every other race from Germany.  But the civilized societies can never adopt this way.  We cannot live by the "law of jungle".  We are the human beings; a social animal and we have to create a society.  But a society cannot be created without respecting the social and human rights of other people.  So the only way of creating a society or a civilized culture is tolerance.  Writer quotes a text form the Bible in support of his view! "In my father's house are many mansions"

Similarly he refers to different philosophers, spiritual and religious leaders who have supported the doctrine of tolerance.  The writer suggests a therapy to cultivate the tolerance in people.  He says that one should put oneself in the place of others and analyze the situation.  In this way one can easily understand the limitations of others and can find the reason of their attitude and opinion.  This understanding gives us the ability to judge something judiciously.  This will help us to tolerate the conflicting ways and opinions of other people.  We can notice that the people with clear judgment and understanding are always tolerant. 

            Then E. M. Forster compares the love and tolerance.  He says that love is important in personal life but it is not effective in public life.  The only force in public life is tolerance.

            Concluding the discussion the writer urges us to be open-minded and to see not only the faults of others but of ourselves too. He says that tolerance is not weakness rather it is strength.  It is the only force that can construct or reconstruct any thing durable.

           

Q. No. 5:         What is the importance of tolerance in the external and internal problems of Pakistan?

            Tolerance is the most effective guiding principle in the public life of a nation.  Pakistan is an ideological state that was created in the name of Islam.  Islam stresses on the need of tolerance and a Muslim is demanded to show courtesy even to his enemy.  Islamic history is full of such events.

            Today Pakistan is running through a very serious crisis.  The whole nation is divided due to many conflicts.  Sometimes these differences are of religious nature and sometimes political.  The changes in international affairs also cause much disruption.

            We need tolerance in our religious life.  We should be tolerant in our relations with other religions. We should give equal rights to them.  Similarly we should be tolerant to all the sects of Islam.  Shias should respect Sunnis and Sunnis should regard the rights of Shias.  In this way we can stop the endless series of bomb blasts and bloodshed on a large scale.  This situation has involved the whole population in it and our image in the world has been badly tarnished by this intolerant attitude.

            The political scenario of Pakistan presents a very bleak picture.  Conspiracies have strangled the democracy.  Politicians do not tolerate each other.  Members of opposition are victimized.  And the opposition writes letters to the Army to take over.  They organize movements to bring martial law.  The army does not tolerate politicians.  It tries to subdue them.  Army doesn’t respect the basic human rights of politicians as well as the civillian population.  And this attitude has badly harmed our integrity.  We reaped its fruit in 1971 when we lost one of our vital parts due to this intolerance.  Even today the condition is not any better; we are still heading towards disasters of worst kind.  Provincialism is playing havoc to our existence. The irrationality of political element is leading us to hapless ends.  The haughty and unbending attitude of army is the cause of social unrest and frustration on a large scale.  This horrible situation is only the result of intolerance.

            The difference between classes is also a serious matter.  Today our society is without a middle class.  There are the rich or the poor; some people enjoy every thing while others struggle even for the bread.  According to the facts and figures of the World Bank, 87% of Pakistani population is living under the line of poverty.  The whole sum of national wealth is in the control of some rich families.  Feudalism is crushing the poor people.  The system is not supportive.  This situation has produced an atmosphere of resentment and distrust between both the classes.  But if they open heartedly tolerate each other, the gulf between them can easily be removed.   The rich should try to help poor.  The poor should work harder to lessen this difference.

            In our international affairs, tolerance can be very vital.  Since the creation of Pakistan we had to bear the enmity of India.  We spend almost 70% of our national wealth on the race of weapons.  If we become tolerant towards India, we can spend this money on raising the standard of our people’s life.

            So it proves that all our internal and external problems can be solved through the tolerance.  This can save us from the discontent and disappointment present in our nation today.