I think quarreling is a softer form of fighting. In Pakistan most of our quarrels can grow into fights. The people of the Book have fought for centuries. But people of the Facebook only quarrel because they cannot fight. A quarrel or a fight is only among equals. On Facebook an infant and a grandpa are equals. It is a culture of infinite equality, what Marxists call the ‘classless phase of society’.
We, as normal humans, avoid a quarrel or fight with someone we think is stronger. It is an instinct we inherit from our animal past. Like animals, we have an instinctive ability to be realistic.
We quarrel more readily if we are irritable. Many factors make us irritable. Noise is such a factor. But noise is not only outside of us; it can be from within. Unresolved conflicts and contradictions breed noise in the soul. Unresolved issues are like broken tips of the thorn in the flesh. They generate a confusing sense of deprivation.
People grow calmer as their sense of deprivation decreases. But we have observed that they can continue to be aggressive and quarrelsome even in prosperity. Thus we can think that only deeper culture of the mind reduces irritability and aggressive attitudes. Peace can help the growth of intellectual culture, but peace alone is no guarantee.
A fine human society needs the culture of thinking and correct concepts about life. This culture needs a serious movement of ideas. Movement of ideas, in turn, needs patience. When shall we borrow this commodity from the West instead of weapons?

 

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