Essay on Does Antigone Deserve To Be Punished - 742 Words

Xiaoqing Shi Dr. Henry Bayerle Classics 102Q 25 November 2011 Does Antigone Deserve to Be Punished? Antigone has been acclaimed as a model that challenges authority and insists on just acts. However, according to Aristotle, a tragedy requires a man’s harmartia, which means error. Therefore, as a main character of a great tragedy, Antigone must possess flaws. Antigone’s self-certainty is one of her mistakes that contribute to her tragic fate. She regards burying dead people as absolute just behavior under any circumstance. This rite is important in Ancient Greek culture, but weather or not gods desire appropriate arrangement of Polyneices’ body is under question. It is Zeus that brings death to Polyneices because†¦show more content†¦The conditionality of burying the dead shows that gods’ law is less sacred for Antigone than she claims to be. Neither does she care about her living families. She humiliates Ismene publicly, causing Creon’s death indirectly and set her uncle Creon in a dilemma where he ne eds to punish his daughter-in-law. Her real incentive is individual reputation, for she excludes Ismene from standing by her and asks Ismene to spread the news about her defiant act. She seems to use religion and family as elegant reasons to achieve honor. On the contrary, Creon, as a king, weights the interest of the overall state more than his own family. After experiencing the civil war caused by Polyneices, he understands the great need of the polis for order and thus enacts harsh laws to punish people causing riots. Unanimous obedience to law would also encourage his people to fight bravely in the war by being â€Å"loyal and dauntless at his comrades’s side†. Creon has to retain the validity and effectiveness of the law, because if every citizen can pursue any personal interest without fear for grave consequences, the entire social operation mechanism would break down. Punishing Antigone is necessary to retain the order of the polis. If we assume that A ntigone’s action is absolutely just, her strategy to execute justice still lacks insight. She isolates herself by rejecting Ismene’s companionship. Nor does she mention her fiancà © Haemon in the play. HerShow MoreRelatedThe Four Main Characters In The Tragedy Of Antigone858 Words   |  4 Pagesfall. The main conflict of the story occurs between King Creon and Antigone. Creon’s decrees that Polyneices was a traitor who fought against his city and because of that, his body should not be buried and be left out in the open for the animals to do whatever they please. Antigone does not agree with Creon’s decree because Polyneices was her beloved brother who was the one being punished. Antigone argues that Polyneices deserves to be buried not only because he was family, but because he too foughtRead MoreCreon : The Tragic Hero In SophoclesAntigone886 Words   |  4 Pagesis clearly effective in Sophocles’ Antigone which is about a young woman’s will to do what is right by the Gods. Also, according to Aristotle, â€Å"a tragedy can arouse twin emotions of pity and fear only if it presents a certain type of hero or heroine who is neither completely good nor completely bad† (â€Å"What is† 739). He or she must also be â€Å"highly renowned and prosperous,† have a tragic flaw, learn a lesson, and suffer greatly (â€Å"What is† 739). Therefore, in Antigone by Sophocles, Creon is the tragicRead MoreAnalysis Of Civil Disobedience In Antigone1078 Words   |  5 Pagesbooks are getting in trouble for their acts of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is refusing to follow certain laws as a form of political protest. In Antigone, written by Sophocles, Antigone rebels against the laws of Creon and buries her brother, Polynieces, when everyone was ordered not to. Modern day people around the world like Antigone are also defying laws. Women in Saudi Arabia who went driving when laws forbid them to and they got into a lot of trouble with the government, Israelis whoRead MoreEssay about Antigone1326 Words   |  6 Pages Antigone; The Tragic Hero nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Antigone is a classic work that never ceases to be analyzed by critics and students around the world. The debate over who is the real tragic hero of Sophocles’ play Antigone is a topic that is heavily discussed. To this day there is still no agreement. Some people believe that Antigone is the real tragic hero of this tragedy, while others believe that the hero is in fact her uncle, Creon. It is logical to say that Antigone is the tragicRead MoreAntigone And Creon As A Tyrant1452 Words   |  6 Pages Antigone takes place just after a war between Antigone’s two brothers, Eteocles and Polynices. Eteocles fought on the side of Thebes whereas Polynices resembled an invader. Afterwards, Eteocles is buried and seen as honorable. However, Polynices is denied a proper burial because he is considered a traitor to Thebes. In this play, Sophocles uses Antigone and Creon as foils by characterizing Antigone as a martyr and Creon as a tyrant to urge the read er to realize that one’s own morals are more significantRead MoreGender Roles In Antigone1547 Words   |  7 PagesIn Sophocles’ Antigone, gender roles are a major conflicting theme throughout the entire play. The setting of the play was written during the Greek mythological days, around 442 B.C. During these days, men were dominant and held all of the power, so women were automatically treated as less. Antigone and Creon portray the conflicting sides between male and female, and Ismene and Haemon portray opposing sides to Antigone and Creon’s actions. Antigone, Ismene, Creon, and Haemon each show differencesRead More The Relationship between Gods and Mortals in Mythology Essay1359 Words   |  6 Pagespower for both gods and mortals. For instance, in Sophocles tragedy, Antigone, justice prevails over king Creons actions. He sentences his own niece to death for giving her deceased brother, a pronounced enemy of Thebes, a proper burial. In return for his rig id ruling he loses his wife and son to tragic deaths. Creon puts his own city?s justice before the determined justice of the gods, and pays dearly for it. Antigone also receives justice for her actions even though she dies. She did goRead MoreAnalysis Of Sophocles The King Of The Thebes 979 Words   |  4 PagesUnited States Army betrays our country to side with terrorists and other enemies in attempts to take over America, but is killed in t battle. Does that general deserve a proper burial that is usually given to regular armed service men and women? That’s basically the same situation that King Kreon is put in at the beginning of Antigone. Throughout Sophocles’ Antigone, Kreon, the king of the Thebes, has good intentions, but remains stubborn and inflexible to the outcries of his own family, the unhappinessRead MoreSophocles Antigone Essay1702 Words   |  7 Pages Sophocles’ play â€Å"Antigone† illustrates the conflict between obeying human and divine law. The play opens after Oedipus’ two sons Eteocles and Polyneices have killed each other in a civil war for the throne of Thebes. Oedipus’ brother in law Creon then assumes the throne. He dictates that Eteocles shall receive a state funeral and honors, while Polyneices shall be left in the streets to rot away. Creon believes that Polyneices’ body shall be condemned to this because of his civil disobedience andRead MoreWhat Makes The Best Type Of Person Is The Most Honest And Good?1358 Words   |  6 PagesThroughout history humans have both depended on and struggled with both manmade and religious beliefs. Beliefs of which have allowed our understandings of life, power, and civilization. Stories of Gilgamesh written by Herbert Mason, Sophocles Antigone, and Thucyides by Paul Woodruff date back from as early as 420 BC. These stories demonstrate the meaning of life and the purpose of civilization. Civilizations of which, have been built around justice. T he best type of person is an admirable one. The

Video Games Video Game Violence - 1502 Words

Anthony Cook Mrs. Martin ENG 1113-1 16 April 2013 Video Game Violence The evolution of video games has taken a drastic change since the 1970’s when video games were first introduced. Since then every decade video games have become more violent in nature with strong language and realistic to suit society today. Craig Anderson states that with more violence in video games they would sell better than games with less violence (Anderson, Gentile, and Beckley pg.5). Violent video games really became popular when the first person shooter games were invented so that we could see through the eyes of the player, as if we were really experiencing it. Society wanted better graphics and games as time went on new technology was invented and society matured in electronics. This meant that for game creators would have to come up with something better selling than the last. Creators would make the games more violent and more realistic each time so that way they can keep the interest of their consumers. Each game would increase in blood or gor e slowly, but what really got consumers to buy their games would be the update of graphics in the consoles or games. This is due to the drastic changing of technology and the maturing of consumers wanting better and newer violent video games. Violent video games can cause children to behave violently if not correctly supervised. Violent video games can desensitize children. Studies show that most video games in today’s society contain some type ofShow MoreRelatedVideo Game Violence : Video Games892 Words   |  4 PagesVideo Game Violence On December 14, 2012, a twenty year old boy named Adam Lanza shot twenty children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Before arriving to the school, he shot his mother then committed suicide after the shooting. The reports say that he was influenced to shooting others by the video game â€Å"Call of Duty†. Video game violence is defined as a behavior including physical violence intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something impacted by videoRead MoreVideo Game Violence : Violent Video Games1626 Words   |  7 PagesDavis English III 27 March 2015 Video Game Violence Violent video games have been being created since the first console. Yet only recently have we been blaming them for aggression in the player. We as humans have a tendency to blame our violent behavior on other things rather thin ourselves. Now aggression is being defined in many ways in this situation but mainly people point to the anger that’s brought out in the real world after the game or maybe it’s the gamers’ tendency to haveRead MoreVideo Games : Video Game Violence Essay1693 Words   |  7 PagesVideo Game Violence Blood and gore, intense violence, strong sexual content, use of drugs. These are just a few of the phrases that the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) uses to describe the content of several games. The future of entertainment revolves around technology. Along with the evolvement of technology, video games are also changing. More ways of playing violent video games are created each year, but most of us have this question in mind; do violent video games influence peopleRead MoreVideo Game Violence And Violent Video Games2382 Words   |  10 PagesAbstract The issue of video game violence seems to be a hot topic right now after several shootings have occurred and made a connection to the shooters being video gamers. In looking at past research it is apparent that there seems to large amounts of research that contradict one work to another. Although I would have been interested in conducting a poll of the publics opinion regarding the use of violent video games and their connection to mass shootings I was not able to conduct the researchRead MoreVideo Games and Violence1011 Words   |  4 Pagesare probably millions and billions of video games sold every year to people. Some people seem to believe that violence correlates directly with video games. Video games are something that is usually a big interest in people at the ages of 13 to 19 years old. Video games usually start off as a little fun and then turn into a major hobby for some people. Emotions change based on whatever happens while a person is engaging in these games most of t he time. These games are another way to observe how peopleRead MoreVideo Games Violence664 Words   |  3 PagesUNV - 104 August 11, 2013 Video Games and Violence Video games and violence have different effects on children according to the type of video games that is being watched It is important to understand the world of video games. All video games do not prevent violence in children. Parents should take into consideration in monitoring their child while choosing video games. Depending on the video game that is chosen, does not mean the child will result in violent behavior later on in lifeRead MoreVideo Games and Violence1981 Words   |  8 Pagesconcerned about violent video games due to the increased reality in the games. However, society may not realize how children and teens are affected by these games. In modern times, children and young adults are affected by violent games in a negative way by causing changes in their behavior. The average American child watches 28 hours of television a week and by the age of eighteen will have seen 16,000 murders and 200,000 violent acts (Gallagher). People who defend violent games like to po int out thatRead MoreThe Violence Of Video Games971 Words   |  4 PagesMost kids today play video games to entertain themselves and it’s their hobby. Today kids and even young adults play games like Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V), Call of Duty, and Fallout 4. All three of these games were one of the top games of their respective year of release. What do they all have in common? They depict violence in a way that its becoming more realistic every year they’re sequels are released. But what’s up with people blaming video games for mass shootings and other heinousRead MoreVideo Games and Violence942 Words   |  4 Pages Video Games and Violence Awe entering in more advanced society of technology, video games has become a popular source of entertainment among us. Almost all of us has rented or owned a video game and we have spent hours playing it. As we all know, video games have become the second most popular form of entertainment after television; the source of entertainment is proven to be violent. Excessive playing of video games has a huge impact on our life as well asRead MoreDo Video Games Contribute For Video Game Violence?1170 Words   |  5 Pages Do video games contribute to video game violence? I will discuss why video games do not contribute to youth violence, what types of warnings are given by video game companies, and what flaws exist in studies that suggest a correlation between violence and gaming. As the sales of video games have risen in recent years, some groups claim that violence in these games has caused violent behaviors among young players. However, this argument bears little factual evidence supporting such a connection

Movie Tehcniques Free Essays

Film, what do you think of when you hear that word? A motion picture is simply a series of still pictures shown quickly so they stimulate motion. But a film can be so much more than that. It can tell a story, inform people of news, or educate. We will write a custom essay sample on Movie Tehcniques or any similar topic only for you Order Now A film can surprise, aggravate, and inspire the imagination. Some of the necessary skills to analyze how images are constructed, how they create meanings, and how they affect us help us to better understand film as a whole. Throughout the class we watched several films each displaying some different techniques used throughout the films. These techniques help provide a dynamic approach to discover the different meanings that the viewer can receive from the film. In Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. made in 1924, the specific film technique that best stands out is mise-en-scene. Mise-en-scene is the composition or what’s in the scene or frame. This technique includes long take, long shot, and moving camera. A specific example of a scene from the film that illustrates mise-en-scene is when Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton) is riding on the handle bars of the motorcycle that the theater manager, Gillette (Ford West) is racing around through town on (154). Sherlock Jr. is unaware that Gillette has fallen off and he is performing crazy stunts while on the handle bars with no driver. One of the extreme stunts that he performed is when the motorcycle appears to cross a bridge that is open so it looks like he could plummet to the ground, but just as he is crossing the gap two trucks pass underneath him filling the gap and he safely makes is across. From this account, this powerful scene shows mise-en-scene perfectly. The camera is taking a long take which means that the camera is taking a single unbroken shot that can be moving or stationary. In this case the camera is moving with the action which shows moving camera. The scene also fills long shot which is a shot that shows the full human body, and the camera is also showing the background behind Sherlock Jr. while he racing around town performing crazy stunts. This technique is used to help keep this silent American comedy interesting and the audience intrigued throughout the performance that Sherlock Jr. is presenting. In Sergei Eisenstein’s 1926 film, Battleship Potemkin, the specific film technique that stands out is montage. Montage is different than mise-en-scene instead of long take, long shot, and moving camera it is a sequence of quick shots, showing a condensed series of events. The individual shots put together to cause and emotional or intellectual reactions to the audience. Eisenstein believed that film montage could create ideas or have impact beyond the individual images. He wanted to represent perceptions powerfully more than emotions directly (172). A specific example of a scene that illustrates montage very well is the Odessa Steps scene. In this scene, the Tsar’s soldiers march down a seemingly endless flight of steps in a rhythmic, machine like fashion. While walking down the steps they are shooting into the crowd of town’s citizens creating a traumatic massacre. There were several victims including an older woman trying to stop the soldiers but she is stabbed with a knife. The next shot is of a young boy that was killed and his mother was protesting for them to help her because her boy had been hurt, but they didn’t even listen and shot her. The next shot flashes to a mother holding onto a baby carriage but she is shot. As she falls to her death she knocks the carriage down the steps. The camera continues to show the carriage tumbling down the stairs and then zooming in on the wheels of the carriage and it quickly plummets down the steps. During these main shots, there were quick shots of other town citizen’s dying and scurrying to get away. This seven minute scene just showed complete and utter chaos. Montage is used for the Odessa Step scene because it allows Eisenstein to manipulate the audience’s perceptions of time by stretching out the crowd’s flight down the steps. The rapid progression and alteration of images in the sequence gives the audience just a piece from a dreadful nightmare. This sequence of montage sets up the audience to rise up against oppression and the Tsar government. In Orson Welles 1989 film, Citizen Kane, the specific film technique that stands out right from the beginning is mise-en-scene. As explained earlier mise-en-scene is what the director decides to put into the film frame such as lighting, the setting, costume, and the movement and actions of figures appearing within the film. The scene that shows the most powerful and significant mise-en-scene is the first flashback scene set at Charles Foster Kane’s (Orson Welles) childhood home. The scene begins showing Kane in the background, while in the foreground, his parents (Mary and Jim Kane) and Mr. Walter Parks Thatcher (George Coulouris) are discussing his future. Kane appears visually trapped within the frames of a window, foreshadowing the way in which he will be â€Å"trapped† into Mr. Thatcher’s guardianship. During the scene, they show a close up of Kane’s facial expression and they fade out to reveal the sleigh, Rosebud, which he was happily playing with moments before. The beginning scene of the flashback of Kane’s happy childhood being given into the hands of Mr. Thatcher illustrates mise-en-scene very well. The scene provides a great example of deep focus, which is the drama within the frame. The director focuses on the foreground with his mother signing the papers, the father in the middle by the door, and young Kane outside the window. The use of mise-en-scene keeps the audience intrigued into who Kane was referring to when he was dying and asked for rosebud. They continue to use long take, long shot, and at the end the moving camera reveals what Rosebud was. By not revealing that Rosebud was the sled from his child hood right from the beginning, the audience stays curious as to who Rosebud really was. In Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly’s 1951 film, Singin’ in the Rain, the specific film technique that stands out is mise-en-scene. When mise-en-scene is applied to film it means everything that is present before the camera, which includes arrangement of props, actors and sets. During the entire film, mise-en-scene was shown through performance of the main characters Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly), Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds), Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) and Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor). These characters would often express their emotions through song or dance. One example of a scene that shows mise-en-scene thoroughly is when Don Lockwood performs the song, â€Å"Singing in the Rain. † The scene starts with Don Lockwood kissing Kathy Selden on the doorstep of the house. This starts off as a long shot before zooming into a close up of the two kissing and they are both under Lockwood’s umbrella, which is a crucial prop for the entire scene. There is a constant rain throughout the scene, which is acknowledged by Kathy who states â€Å"This California dew is just a little heavier than usual tonight,† before she goes back inside. Don then waves away the waiting taxi which has been visible since the start of the scene. Don begins to sing the opening of â€Å"Singing in the Rain. † He then shuts his umbrella and begins dancing down the street, filled with a mixture of houses and shops with displays on the window. Don interacts with almost all of the props like the light pole on the sidewalk and the puddles of water on the road. Two people rush past him hiding under a newspaper, while he dances around them giving them a cheerful wave. Throughout his performance, Don carries an umbrella as some kind of dance partner, and at one point using it as an air guitar. This technique is used in the movie to allow the audience to use the performance to perceive different perceptions and meanings of the images and sound. Mise-en-scene in this specific scene with Don creates a different effect, leaving the audience with a feel good moment. Everyone lives in a different reality and that is why people enjoy watching films. They give insight into the worlds of others. Film directors do their best to portray their characters’ lives and make them as believable as they can. They do this through the different film techniques to help describe the way that meaning is created throughout the film. Many help set up the realism with costumes, setting and performance, while others use a series of quick shots to condense space, time and information. Even though film is just a story or event recorded by a camera as a set of images, when shown to an audience the meanings created helps them to better understand the films overall. How to cite Movie Tehcniques, Papers

Intolerance in pakistan free essay sample

Pakistan is a developing country and a sovereign, Islamic republic as well as an Islamic democracy with a mixture of both Islamic and colonial secular laws. The Constitution of Pakistan provides for fundamental rights, which include freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of information, freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the right to bear arms. The founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a moderate secular state blended with some Islamic values and principles. Nevertheless, Pakistans status as an Islamic Republic should not be confused or compared with other Islamic Republics in the region, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran. Unlike Iran, Pakistan is not a theocracy, but rather an Islamic democracy. Elections in Pakistan regularly take place on time and are mostly free and fair. Most of Pakistans laws are secular in nature, most of which were inherited from the United Kingdoms colonial rule of modern-day Pakistan before 1947. In recent times, there has been increasing pressure on Pakistan to amend or replace some of its outdated laws made during the time of the British Empire. Unfortunately, human societies are not inherently tolerant. Indeed, small hunter- gatherer and even early agrarian communities were not even diverse. Thus tolerance was not always a human reaction to the outsider, the ‘Other’. It was a virtue which grew as civilization became more complex because of war, trade and migration. This ‘tolerance’ was contingent upon the acceptance of the predominance of the politically ascendant group. It was probably an outcome of security rather than insecurity. A besieged civilization is generally a paranoid civilization looking for enemies within and without to blame for failures Intolerance Intolerance can be defined as unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from ones own. Unfortunately intolerance is growing day by day in Pakistani society and its consequences are very severe. It is the root cause of many other social evils. We will analyze the major types of intolerance prevailing in our society , there consequences and then will discuss how intolerance can be minimized. Religious intolerance in Pakistan Soon after its independence in 1947 Pakistan faced many problems. The first calamity that struck this country was the demise of its founder Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the vacuum which was created after Jinnah’s death could not be filled; it caused many problems for the new born state particularly about the future of Pakistan. Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be a state where people from all religion, cast or creed will be treated equally, and their religious beliefs will have nothing to do with the business of the state, which he cited in his illustrious presidential address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947. However, not all the people were thinking similar to Jinnah, as they had their own aims. A majority in this category was the religious fanatic class, who at first opposed Pakistan movement but later after the creation of Pakistan they became part of it, but that was not all, the newly born state of Pakistan seemed like a good opportunity to these religious opportunists class to propagate and bolster their own agenda under the umbrella of religion because bulk of the masses of this country were unaware of the consequences of blind following these clerics, and these people of Pakistan were a bull’s-eye of religious blackmailing. With the passage of time Jinnah’s idea of a Muslim state was overshadowed by the pattern of the state propagated by clergyman. The onset of cold war and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan gave a threshold to Mullahism in Pakistan. That time military dictator General Zia ul Haq assured his full support to the extremist religious organizations inside Pa kistan for the purpose of â€Å"Jihad† against Soviets in Afghanistan. During his tenure the recruitment of Jihadis from all over the Pakistan and their training through the platform of these religious organizations (in collaboration with CIA) gained peak, thus strengthening extremism roots in our society. However, after Zia the failure of other civilian governments to control these radical religious groups led to an atrocious situation. As an aftermath of past governments unconditional support to these religious organizations today Pakistan is suffering from religious extremism and intolerance more than ever, the sectarian violence in this country is at its peak, killings of sectarian leaders for the purpose of gaining more influence over the other sect is a common practice these days. Pakistan has  seen an unprecedented rise in religious intolerance since last five years, from the assassination of Governor Punjab alleged of blasphemy to the present day case of a 13 year old Christian school going girl, who was accused of blasphemy only because she misspelled the Urdu word â€Å"Naat† which looked like the word â€Å"Lanat† after being misspelled in her class test. The girl was expelled from the school by the principal on the complaint of her teacher, who should have known that a 13 year old young kid can make such types of mistakes unintentionally. Moreover, her prosecution was demanded by local Mul las and they waged protests to file a case against the young girl accusing her of blasphemy. These events draw the horrible picture of our society which shows that how acutely the Mullaism and religious intolerance has settled itself in to Jinnah’s Pakistan. Islam is a religion of peace and love it preaches the respect and welfare of Humanity, rather than killings and prosecution of non-Muslims just because of the reason that they live in a Muslim state and they differ from us in their beliefs, so their any unintentional action is portrayed as blasphemy, which is considered as solid evidence to kill them. The recent brutal killings of people from Shiite sect in Quetta is another horrifying example of religious intolerance. The rising negative role of religious extremists is acting as a pandemic in our society; these people have narrow minds, radical beliefs and sectarian agendas which are only in their own favour and are largely harmful to our society. The growing activism of such organizations are alarming which can be seen quite often in variety of fields particularly in educational institutions where religious and so called â€Å"student organizations† are actively working. In the public sector universities they have strong hold from where a large number of recruitments take place. Students who are suppose to study are playing in hands of these organizations by wasting their time, money and carriers after being trapped by these people as a member of some religious student organization. They are indoctrinated and then used for the implementation of their organizational agenda either through protests, strikes or even by use of violence all in the name of Islam. Pakistan is a country where quality education is rare; people are used to of blind following and there is a great dearth of awareness among people about misuse of religion. It is the need of the hour that as an individual and as well as a society we shall raise awareness among people against such propagandas and for the welfare of our country by using all possible means, we need to claim back the Jinnah’s Pakistan which endorses tolerance, peace, love and equality rather than a country plagued by intolerance, hatred, sectarianism and fanatic mentality indoctrinated by those who have already hijacked the ideal state of Pakistan and camouflaged themselves as religious shepherd. It is up to Pakistanis to decide how much or how little religious tolerance may prevail in the society. Will Pakistan continue to be a country where Sikhs are prevented from praying, Ahmadis and Shias are slaughtered in and en-route to places of worship, where shrines of patron saints are destroyed by sui cide bombers, or where foreign aid workers are abducted for ransom. Or will it be a country where religious pluralism, as was envisioned by Jinnah, Pakistan’s founding father, would flourish? Intolerance Breeds hatred Every society consists of various groups following different faiths, ideologies, sectarian beliefs and social and political adherences. In some cases, there is a majority which dominates the society and makes attempts, either by force or by persuasion, to integrate these different groups into its fold. In such a scenario the majority believes that only by uniting all groups can society grow strong and defend itself from internal and external dangers. This creates conflict and instead of uniting, the society further fragments and breaks into pieces. This is what is called tyranny of the majority and its intolerance toward differences and diverse opinions. In other cases the majority makes efforts to understand the existence of different groups in its fold; it adopts the policy of tolerance and allows them to express their views freely. The outcome of both policies are quite different. In case of tolerance, creativity flourishes and blossoms. Finding no discrimination or prejudices, art, literature, music and other expressions of culture are produced which  transform it into a progressive and multicultural society. In case of intolerance, the elements of creativity are strangled and minority groups, feeling insecure and deprived, fail to contribute socially, politically, and economically. We have the example of the Jews in the Western society. As long as they were persecuted, their contribution to Western civilisation was limited to trade and commerce. When the Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizens was passed after the French Revolution, the Jews were also granted equal rights. When Napoleon conquered Germany, he also liberated the Jews who were forced to reside in ghettos and were not allowed any commercial activities outside the ghettos. Once they were free, they emerged as the most creative group who contributed not only in trade and commerce but also in art and literature, philosophy, and science. Nazi Germany suffered intellectually and culturally as a result of its anti-Jew policy. Most of the leading Jews left Germany and settled in different European countries or the USA. Germany was deprived of their talents and their adopted countries benefited from their presence. History shows that those countries which followed the policy of intolerance suffered economically, socially and culturally. When the Arabs conquered Spain, which they called al-Andalus, they formed a multi-religious and multi-cultural society consisting of Muslims, Jews and Christians. This created a sophisticated society based on an enlightened philosophy that richly contributed to art and architecture. The vast store of Greek learning reached the West via Arab translation. There was no persecution of Christians. However, all this changed when in 1492 the combined forces of Castilian and Aragon defeated the last Moorish kingdom of Granada and expelled the Muslims and the Jews. They were given the option to either convert to Christianity or leave the country. Thus followed a trail of tears. The Jews left and made efforts to settle in European countries where they were constantly harassed and terrorised. The Muslims settled in North African Muslim states and some of them became  pirates to take revenge against the Europeans by plundering their trading ships. Those who converted were harassed by the Inquisition and tried on mere suspicion of following their old religion. It changed the whole cultural fabric of Spain. Although it became a part of the Holy Roman empire it slowly lost its cultural vitality and became backward.