Page 80 - The Debased Culture of Superficiality
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78          THE DEBASED CULTURE OF SUPERFICIALITY



            of humanity and therefore attach importance to others’ feel-
            ings. If they sense the slightest displeasure, they do not pur-
            sue the conversation. However, shallow people do not regu-
            late their humor. They joke about matters that others are
            sensitive about and go too far. They do not consider that
            they are making others uncomfortable; and even if they did,
            they would not care, because shallow people do not have
            any sensitivity. They cannot grasp subtlety or keep details in
            their minds. They take no pleasure in showing their human-
            ity.
               Those who live in a shallow culture use mockery in their
            humor, which believers would never do. These people often
            use mockery to put someone else down and elevate them-
            selves, to make themselves the center of attention. When
            they detect that another individual has said something
            wrong, mispronounced a word, or is uninformed on a cer-
            tain matter, they point this out with a humor intended to
            ridicule the other person. They use human mistakes and
            deficiencies for entertainment. In this way, they try to make
            themselves appear more intelligent, attractive, and knowl-
            edgeable and, in short, superior compared to others. But this
            is highly superficial. A person who practices the morality of
            the Qur’an would never think of making the imperfections
            of others a matter of humor. On the contrary, he would pre-
            tend not to notice such things so as not to embarrass the
            other. For example, if a shallow person saw someone trip
            while walking down the street, he might laugh, and not go
            to assist him, even if the person appeared to be injured or
            needed help. Instead of acting humanly, he might pretend
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