[Are You Narrow-Minded Like Them?]
Pag–log on ko sa Internet para i-check ang Yahoo e-mail ko—karaniwang routine ko sa umaga sa trabaho napos makapag-almusal—ang headline news sa Yahoo ay “Filmmaker Michael Moore calls Canada ‘shameful’ on U.S. war dodgers.”
A narrow-minded person perhaps would not find anything wrong or unusual in that statement. However, if you’re the type who acknowledges and highly respects the sense of individuality of every human and who has a logical mode of thinking, you would not consider such a statement. You will not generalize that “Canada is shameful” just because one or a number of Canadians have done something shameful. A sweeping statement like this is an example of hasty generalization.
In Logic, hasty generalization is “the fallacy of examining just one or very few examples or studying a single case, and generalizing that to be representative of the whole class of people, objects, or phenomena.” According to Psychology, humans have a natural tendency to make hasty generalizations; but what sets apart people who do not generalize from those who do is their self-discipline or power to control the tendency or the urge. Impulsive, narrow-minded, and self-centered people—those who do not think first before reacting, those who are lacking in empathy, and those who are poor in assessing all sides of a situation—are the ones prone to making hasty generalizations.
Many people—regardless of race, beliefs, or social or economic status—fall victims of their own narrow-mindedness, too quick to generalize without acknowledging that the error of some is not the blunder of all; or that the mistake or incompetence of a group of individuals should be the shame of an entire race, nation, or society. This is one reason I don’t buy the so-called ‘original sin,’ because I firmly believe that each of us should not carry the guilt of others.
Do not carry the guilt of others
Another timely example of hasty generalization may be seen in the recent hostage-taking incident in the Philippines which involved the death of Chinese tourists. Because of the alleged incompetence of the responding police officers, the hostage drama became terribly tragic. The point is, because of the internationally sensationalized incident, many Chinese people blatantly expressed their disgust for the Philippines, blaming the entire Filipino race; in the same manner that many Filipinos themselves began to feel shameful of their own race and country. Again, this is hasty generalization, made by narrow-minded individuals.
Sa Madaling Salita
Isa ka ba sa mga taong hindi muna nag-iisip maige bago magsalita nang hindi patas o maganda sa kapwa o ukol sa isang sitwasyon? Makitid rin ba ang isip mo—ibinibintang sa lahat ng tao o sa buong nasyon ang kasalanan ng ilan?
Or, in Simple Words
Are you the type who is quick to make hasty generalizations, blaming the mistake of a few on an entire race or nation? If so, then sad to say but you are a narrow-minded, apathetic, and self-centered person.
