San Bernadino - A lack of expression

"You must be able to verbalize and express what your feel", said Dr. Abdul Wahab our Dean.  That lesson stuck with me for a long time. Initially it was in the context of business. But over time I realized its importance in life in general. Being able to verbalize our feelings and communicate effectively is one of the key mental and psycho-synaptic skills that put us head & shoulders above other species in the animal kingdom. 

And sometimes it feels that is what lacks in the youth of Muslim world.  And it's not merely the ability to communicate, but also the realization that if your cause is just and your argument valid, you should have no fear to speak your mind, peacefully.  And keep speaking till people hear you. There is certain strength that comes from the confidence of knowing that your ethical position is defensible and your reasoning rational.  

This is the confidence we see in moral crusaders who ascend to heroism in history books. People like MLK Jr, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi..... People who maintain their resolve and never resort to violence, no mater how justified it appears. "Non-violent resistance is not for cowards" said Dr King. So if you resort to violence, either your moral position is not defensible, or your lack intellectual capacity to express your viewpoint. 

"If you lose your temper, you lose your case", said Dr Wahab. These were some of the lessons we were lucky enough to learn at IBA, Karachi University - "an island of excellence in an ocean of mediocrity" as Dr Wahab proudly liked to call it. 

Every time I see an impatient, angry man get into an argument or altercation, the thought that crosses my mind is that he (or she) is not thinking it through. So aggression (and its extreme form, violence) mostly are an exhibition of a break-down of the rational human thinking process. 

Aggression or violence might seem like a short cut to the disenfranchised to get what they want.  It is a vestigial emotion from the days of tribal battles.  Except that in the era of modern warfare it doesn't work. Otherwise Islamic terrorists would rule the world.  (It sometime doesn't work even for the ones with most modern weapons - as we saw in the aftermath of Iraq war). 

Or maybe it is just an expression of extreme anger regardless of whatever it might or might not accomplish.  

In times of increasing connectivity, everyone has a platform to voice their grievances, and consequently there is a lot of cacophony. But rational arguments, if repeated enough, will win people over time. 

However, aggression and violence are too tempting a short cut. Even if the price is your life. Such is the power of ignorance when paired with enough anger.