Hamidu Alhassan writes,
There is this misconception and misapplication of criticism, especially in our contemporary era. This article, however, intends to clear the misconception and as well curb the wrong application of criticism.
Some factions have conceived criticism as a tool for amendment from bad to good and they further use criticism to tell what is wrong and what is right. Some have the belief that the concept of criticism is based on condemnation and effort should be made to do away with it in totality. While others have erroneously misconceived and used criticism as a weapon to tarnish one's personality and to depict them unworthy in the sight of people, as can be seen in today's politics and society at large.
However, only one of these classes of people understands the real concept and true intent of criticism. I have convinced myself and hope to convince many to believe that criticism is a tool to tell one what is right and what is not, sometimes it can be employed to rein one excess and transgression too.
Conceptually, criticism can be of two types: constructive and destructive. The latter, as the name implies, is destructive, reproachable, and condemnable, while the first is commendable and practicable.
So, the concept of criticism shouldn't be done away with but rather it should be explained to people so that they can know how to go about it. Even nature per se does not discourage criticism.
Criticism has been part and parcel of life, so the effort to do away it with will always prove futile, but teaching its good concept will go a long way to educate people about it. Advocating against criticism is a form of criticism too. Just the fact that people go wrong about it doesn't render it bad and useless. People are prone to go wrong about what is right, yet it doesn't make the right seems wrong.
If criticism should be discouraged in its totality, it would prevent people from knowing wrong from right.
Moreover, condemning it (criticism) will lead to inadvertent deeming of right as wrong and wrong as right. Imagine growing up in a society where nothing is spoken of homosexuality, a political system where no one speaks about corruption, and an intellectual society where plagiarism is not being discouraged, what do you think we would have now? Well, your guess is right. A lot of people will become supporters of homosexuality, corruption, and plagiarism, which I believe, goes contrary to societal norms.
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