Appreciating Multiple Pespectives

Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice had said so eloquently:

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die?

(Act Three, Scene 1)

Human beings are communal beings; they look for common grounds to anchor their affections and sense of belonging. They often miss the commonalities because the differences are magnified. The variations separate rather than instil awe that we are capable of so many varied ideas and thoughts. The individuality, in persons and communities, should stand a testimony of our vast intellectual capacity, but that aspect is often forgotten or ignored in our urge to band together according to similarities.

In a world aching under the heavy yoke of jaundiced posturing against those that are different, it is imperative to cultivate critical thinking that will allow for multiple perspectives so that there can be a departure from the self-righteous intellectual insults in the name of `freedom of speech' or fundamentalist hate-mongering and destructive behaviour. We need a middle ground, one that does not mean we have to let go of our beliefs in the name of being `politically correct' but one that accepts that, even if we don't agree, others have their reasons to hold on to their beliefs. It calls for respect for others and acceptance that there will always be multiple perspectives.

Below you will find three images. In the light of what was written above, consider what they represent. Send us well-analysed interpretation(s) of the images below, and if your submission is among the top 5, you could earn for yourself a 40% discount for any of the courses, online, blended or face-to-face, offered by The Pear Tree Centre for Education. Your interpretations may be sent to: admin1@thepeartree.info and please indicate the course that you are interested in.