ARROGANCE AND ARGUMENTS
This is an entirely fictitious story. A ship was moving at night. There
was thick fog all around and visibility was very poor. The ship lost its course
and moved eastwards. The captain and the crew were vigilant and very alert as
they were off course. Suddenly they saw a light at a distance. They watched it carefully
and were alarmed as it was proceeding directly towards them. The captain was
sure that it was another ship that had lost its course in the heavy fog.
They sent a stern message to the
other ship that was apparently approaching them rapidly, “Divert your course twenty
five degrees to the North immediately or you will hit us.” The reply was quick
and sharp. “We cannot change our course. You must turn through twenty five
degrees to the South immediately.” The Captain was furious. He shouted angrily,
“This is the captain warning you. Change your course to the North. Avoid a
collision.”
The
reply was frantic, “There is no way, Captain. This is a light house. Turn to
South and save yourselves.” The Captain realised the danger and the gravity of
the situation. He put away his ego and promptly turned the ship away from the
shore in time and averted a major accident by his timely action.
We
behave like the captain when we insist that others should change their course
to suit our convenience. The situation may become explosive due to the stubbornness
of the persons involved. Often a solution to a conflict is easy if one is ready
to sacrifice his egotism.
Dale Carnegie, in his famous book
entitled ‘How to win friends and influence people’ says that no one wins
in an argument and that the best way to win an
argument is to avoid it. A slight flexibility in our behaviour may help to
avert serious arguments in life, especially in family life.
Let
us remember that ‘ANGER’ is only one letter short of ‘DANGER’. Robert Green Ingersoll
said, “Anger blows out the lamp of the mind.” Benjamin Franklin said, “Whatever
is begun in anger ends in shame.”
Lord Buddha taught, “Holding on to anger is like
grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the
one who gets burnt.”
The Holy Bible advises, “There is no excuse for
unjustified anger; it can bring about your downfall. Wait and be patient, and
later you will be glad you did” {Sirach 1: 22, 23}. “If you cannot control
your anger, you are as helpless as a city without walls, open to attack”
{Proverbs 25: 28}.
Let us avoid angry
arguments with others which increase the distance between the hearts, sometimes
to such a great extent that a return to the former state of friendship becomes
difficult or impossible.
……………………………………………………………………
© By: Prof.
Dr. Babu Philip, Former Professor, Cochin University of Science
& Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former
Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally, Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public
School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Alfeen Public
School, Kanjirappally, Kerala, India. For more moral stories, parables and
anecdotes for students, catechists, teachers and preachers, kindly visit
our web-sites:
This is Story No.
333 in the second site. Please click ‘Older Posts’ at
the bottom of a page to read previous stories and click 'Newer
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