Dissent is Not Enmity

PRAKASH SHESH





If all of us always agreed with others, we would be a race of zombies. It is disagreement that leads to progress. When we question the status quo, eventually we find better, more efficient answers. One has to just look at the phenomenal progress science has made in order to understand this.Intelligent people rarely agree with one another. They agree with one another. They have their own points of view based on their unique personal experiences, and they use this to come up with acceptable solutions. If a group leader finds many in his team challenging his point of view, he should be happy that he is being offered a chance to view the problem from different angles.
In Indic culture, respect for elders and guests is given paramount importance and `disagreement' is often perceived as being disrespectful; this is the primary reason why we view `disagreement' so negatively .We are so actively discouraged, right from childhood, from forming our own opinions that we are unsure. Disagreeing with oneself leads to better decision-making, especially when we have no one to assist us. Yes, disagreements between nations have resulted in bloody wars, but we aren't talking of extreme situations here.
This is about upholding one's own beliefs but be willing to listen to others' arguments. A Japanese proverb says, “If two people constantly agree with each other, then one of them is useless; but if two people constantly disagree with each other, then both of them are useless.“ Let us not shy away from productive disagreement.