Daily Times

It is when we are in the first or second grade that our elders, namely our parents and teachers, start telling us that to err is human. Human beings do make mistakes, but they are not to be held reprehensible and must be forgiven.

Unfortunately, like all the proverbs we learn in our childhoods, or cram I must say, this too is forgotten when we grow up. Although we enter an age of maturity, and if it is becoming mature in real terms, we must start bringing all good sayings into practicality, we do not adhere to the saying “To Err is Human”. Instead, what we do is that we make the other person’s life a living hell.

Accosting people, pointing them out, spreading rumours about them and making them realise repeatedly that they have committed a mistake is what we do. Its not that people must not be told their mistakes, but there are inoffensive ways of making them realise their mistakes. It is absolutely not appropriate to insult people in front of a crowd, or whisper things in their presence in such a way that they get embarrassed.

We do this, either for fun or because morality has completely eroded, but unintentionally, we inflict a lot of damage upon the other person’s personality. We throw words in an offhand way without having the slightest notion of their impact on the other person’s mind or heart.

We do not know that such a behavior of ours might ensue in long hours of crying of that person, or even might take him or her to the verge of committing suicide. We do not realise how much excruciating the pain can be that our words or our acts may give the other person.

I do not have any more words to say, for I believe that what I wished to convey must have been conveyed in these few words. The sole purpose of this pithy article is to request people to forgive others for their mistakes, as they are human beings. Intentionally or unintentionally, they might err, but kindly consider it a mistake only, not a crime or a sin for which that person must be insulted repeatedly.

The blogger is a student of English Literature at Government College University Lahore.