Article August 28, 2006 Issue

CRITICISM with a heart to heal

BY MARGARET ROGERS

WHEN ABRAHAM LINCOLN said, "He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help," he defined a crucial difference between constructive and destructive criticism.

A lawyer in South Africa had such a heart when he spoke with a high government minister about unjust policies toward nonwhites. In his book Gandhi, the Man, Eknath Easwaran relates the conversation between the tough official, General Jan Smuts, and the diminutive and not-yet-famous Mohandas Gandhi:

Gandhi: "I've come to tell you that I'm going to fight against your government."

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