Page 80 - The Debased Culture of Superficiality

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