Literature: Broadening Our Outlooks

Etched by the past, the present

Yet an individual in its deep musings

My thoughts are little whispers of my soul.

I was deliberating on what to write when I chanced upon the poem, reproduced above, that I had penned as a preface to a collection of poems I had created decades ago.  It set me thinking on how little we appreciate the individual in each of us, or the debt we owe to the countless influences that have crossed our paths through people, books, social and historical events, and traditions and/or religious beliefs that were passed down from generation to generation.

In a world that celebrates inward-looking and self-centred perspectives, another's differing point of view is seldom appreciated.  Even freedom of expression is advocated from the perspective of "I have the right to say what I want even if it hurts you."  There is a lack of an understanding of the true meaning of what it means to be `liberal'.  Being liberal is not the antithesis of being a conservative.  A conservative can be a liberal, one who as I wrote in a paper some years ago, `see(s) no reason to take the Christ out of (his/her) Christianity to see the Buddha in the Buddhist or the Mohammad in the Muslim'.  A liberal is one who can put himself or herself in the shoes of another and can empathise with the person.  So, while he or she doesn't give up his or her beliefs, neither does he or she insult another's differing points of view.  The liberal understands that the conclusion one draws derives its rational from the premises that one works from, and as individuals we could work from varied premises which originates from opposing logical arguments.

Whenever I teach literature, I tell my students that one of the best lessons that they can gain is when they learn to `put themselves in another's shoes'.  When that happens:

• v  minorities won't be persecuted because of their ethnicity or religion;
• v  females can feel safe when they are away from home, at whatever time of the day;
• v  economically disadvantaged peoples won't be exploited; and
• v  cultural and/or religious sensibilities won't be slighted.

Indeed, plunge into the world of essays and fiction to learn to appreciate the human condition and enhance one's critical and creative thinking skills.  Let me end with my exhortation to the numerous books that have been my wonderful companions through the years.

Lead me into fabled lands

where fiction's crafted in fertile minds

Or quench my thirst with tales

Of fate and humour in the lives of mortals.

For a critical understanding, with examples, of the following:

The liberal understands that the conclusion one draws derives its rational from the premises that one works from, and as individuals we could work from varied premises which originates from opposing logical arguments.

look out for an update here on when the explanations will be posted on Our Blog, found in website of The Pear Tree Centre for Education.