Hicham Maged's blog Inquisitive curiosity paves knowledge path

Tunnel Vision of Mentalities!

Humans live in social groups; hence it is normal and healthy that its members relate themselves to group of idea such as: religion, customs, rituals, political view), future visions, etc. which varies among them but model the general image of their identity among others.

Nevertheless, such variations of opinions inside one society can be either healthy or unhealthy depending on how citizens deal with their differences. Citizens deal with each other among different scales of interaction; starting by the local, passing by the national plus regional, and ends with the global one. Hence, I can understand debates and appreciates different opinions to be expressed freely in order to reach for something.

Tunnel Vision of Mentalities

I however can hardly understand how such variations lead to friction unless people are infected with tunnel vision in their minds with its keystone fanaticism – which I identify as an attitude that occurs when people narrow their vision among themselves only ignoring other members of the society, in case of local interaction, or ignoring other nations in case of global interactions. Furthermore, fanaticism escalates to reach the peak of dogmatism and it is the perfect medium for such unhealthy and sometimes bloody frictions to take place.

Tunnel Vision affects the Mentalities

Surprisingly, if someone or some people do not share you the same view, this does not mean they are blind; it is simply because they do not have your eyes but theirs. For that matter you these kinds of exaggerations can be portrayed in three common cases:

• 1. Bigotry: How people narrow their vision under the name of protecting their identity but who said that this means neglecting, hating, and stereotyping others? Nothing expresses this but bigotry;

• 2. Hypocrisy: How come that they accuse other members of society or other nations of applying double standards whereas they apply it themselves among others who do not share their view? Nothing expresses this but hypocrisy;

• 3. Dogmatism: Who have the right to place indulgence for others? No one but bigotries think they are the qualified to do so, regardless the faith, race or culture but it is worse when they manipulate things to serve them!

If you find yourself or others in any of these cases, then you are simply suffering from a serious tunnel vision of mentalities that I have seen before from Muslims against Non-Muslims like torching the Embassies or the vice versa from Non-Muslims against Muslims in the form of stereotyping Islam and Muslims in general by circulating Islamophobia through misconceptions and stereotypes like the Danish Cartoon Crisis, Fitna Movie and the process of hunting freedom of speech’s bird in general.

Correcting Tunnel Vision of Mentalities

If people want to reach for common grounds then they are called to highlight on their common characteristics, respect their differences on different levels; culturally, socially, ethnically, politically and religiously as we are simply different; however, we cannot achieve this goal unless we use our human intellect for implementing what I see as an “Awareness Process” that requires to pass through three successive phases:

1. Phase 1: understanding their differences;
2. Phase 2: respecting their differences;
3. Phase 3: dealing with their differences.

This awareness process is simply the product of our rational way of thinking. Hence, by reaching this through our minds when we apply it in a constructive way, it shall help in de-stereotyping the image and gives us a positive straight forward push to the citizens locally and globally, or else the fog will never lift and the destructive way shall give a negative backward retreat!

Related Quotes and Sayings

Only two things are infinite; the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former. — Albert Einstein

The responsibility of tolerance lies in those who have the wider vision. — George Eliot

« photo credit »

Tags: human intellect, islamophobia, multiculturalism
Categories: Critiques
Viewd: 2,581 views

(10 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...