Et Tu, Brute/ You too, Brutus?” -Julius Caesar
International Friendship Day is being celebrated on July 30 and human world is enjoying the scene. Parties are arranged, cakes are cut and candles are burnt. But the matter of introspection on this very day is whether the friendship is really in vogue or not. Is it friendship or Hypocrisy? The above-quoted phrase from the last scene of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, when Caesar is betrayed by his friend Brutus during his assassination, expresses Caesar’s shock and betrayal at the part of his trusted friend Brutus. It is a general question in everybody’s mind that has been betrayed by their friends this way or that way. In our childhood school days, we were taught: A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed, which implies that a true friend stands with you through thick and thin. At home, we were narrated to by older adults, and many of us were told tales from folk literature that would encompass the theme of sincerity or betrayal in friendship. And some traces of those stories are still in my faded memory. Legends go that once upon a time, a king sentenced a man to death. On the very day of execution, he was allowed to fulfil his wish –that last one-as per the tradition of courts. The sentenced person asked to be allowed to meet his friend. Once they were allowed to meet, they embraced each other for such a long time and argued with each other about volunteering for hanging so long that the time specified for the hanging passed beyond the limit, and the sentence as per court procedure was cancelled. Before proceeding with the details about today’s friendship discourse, let me take to the main topic: International Friendship Day and its importance regarding peace and prosperity.
Background: The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures, and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities. The resolution emphasizes involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity. To mark the International Day of Friendship, the UN encourages governments, international organizations, and civil society groups to hold events, activities, and initiatives that contribute to the global community's efforts towards promoting a dialogue among civilizations, solidarity, mutual understanding, and reconciliation. The International Day of Friendship is an initiative that follows the proposal made by UNESCO, defining the Culture of Peace as a set of values, attitudes, and behaviours that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes to solve problems. It was then adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1997 and advocates for the following actions to Promote a Culture of Peace foster a culture of peace through education; promote sustainable economic and social development; encourage respect for all human rights; ensure equality between women and men; foster democratic participation; advance understanding, tolerance and solidarity; support participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge; promote international peace and security.
Friendship is a divine connection between individuals, irrespective of age, cast, creed, colour, and community. It is an unconditional bond that connects two persons emotionally and spiritually. The daily use of the phrase “Ghaar Ka Yaar- The friend of the Cave” reminds us of the noble friendship between Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Hazrat Sadiq (RA), as they would always be seen together through thick and thin. And it is Hazrat Sadiq (RA) who used to be the Prophet’s companion while they meditated in the Cave of Hira. This legend of the faithful, sincere, and pure friendship has become symbolic for the whole of humanity. The other three best friends of the Prophet were Umar Ibni Khitaab (RA), Othman Ibni Affan, and Ali Ibni Talib (May God shower his blessings on all of them). The combination of 4 people led by the holy Prophet established the basic Islamic structure. They were the die-hard fans and the most loyal to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).
Facebook and friendship in today’s world are so closely associated terms and so interconnected that one feels out of existence without having friendship on Facebook or other social media platforms. The positive factors of social media can’t be ignored at all, but the little bit drastic effects of social media can be very sensitively evaluated, and it may be concluded that the major positive factors are not so powerful that we may advocate for them and neglect the minor negative factors. Social media has become the global platform for connectivity and information. To some extent, it has given people access to authorities, as in the past, the wailings and pleadings would go unheeded, and the injustice done to the public would go unnoticed. Moreover, it has given the public an ample chance to express themselves. Many inspirational and motivational stories are shared through this platform. So many influential authors and scholars interact with people via social media, which was not possible in the olden days of the pre-Internet period.
At the same time, the manipulation and fraud being done through such platforms is also an alarming situation for us. The fraudsters introduce themselves through social media and cheat innocent people. Online account hackers and online gamers are the biggest threat to this nation. These days, we hear the news through social media that Mr XYZ has lost a lot while playing online games. Consequently, the impacted persons are ruined both financially, socially, and morally. In the recent past, we used to get calls from fraudsters who impersonated themselves as police officers, judges, CIB agents, and others, claiming that our children/ relatives, etc., have been caught while doing any crime and asking for negotiation in case we offer them a huge amount, hence blackmailing the unlettered persons. How is it possible that our personal data is available to these fraudsters? This is a matter of grave concern, although another perspective is cyber insecurity. Though the topic is Facebook friendship vs real friendship, we must not deviate from the main track. We must be aware of the associated fallacy that often unsnaps us, and we are gone. The technical platform can't give our information and thoughts an outlet, but it can give our emotions and feelings. So, we must prefer a physical friend to a virtual one.
Pathetic fallacy can be viewed from two perspectives ie; One given by John Ruskin and another by Wimsatt and Bradely in their joint creative work ‘Intentional and affective fallacy’ I would like to throw light, although briefly, on both of these concepts.
The meaning of the term has changed significantly from the idea Ruskin had in mind. Ruskin's original definition is "emotional falseness", or the falseness that occurs to one's perceptions when influenced by violent or heightened emotion. For example, when a person is unhinged by grief, the clouds might seem darker than they are, or perhaps mournful or uncaring.
The phrase pathetic fallacy is a literary term for the attribution of human emotion and conduct to things found in nature that are not human. It is a kind of personification that occurs in poetic descriptions, when, for example, clouds seem sullen, when leaves dance, or when rocks seem indifferent. The English cultural critic John Ruskin coined the term in the third volume of his work Modern Painters (1856).
Affective fallacy is a term from literary criticism used to refer to the supposed error of judging or evaluating a text on the basis of its emotional effects on a reader. The term was coined by W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley in 1949 as a principle of New Criticism which is often paired with their study of The Intentional Fallacy.
The concept of affective fallacy is an answer to the idea of impressionistic criticism, which argues that the reader's response to a poem is the ultimate indication of its value. It is the antithesis of affective criticism, which is the practice of evaluating the effect that a literary work has on its reader or audience. The concept was presented after the authors had presented their paper on The Intentional Fallacy.
First defined in an article published in The Sewanee Review in 1946, the concept of an affective fallacy was most clearly articulated in The Verbal Icon, Wimsatt's collection of essays published in 1954. Wimsatt used the term to refer to all forms of criticism that understood a text's effect upon the reader to be the primary route to analysing the importance and success of that text. This definition of the fallacy, if strictly followed, touches on or wholly includes nearly all of the major modes of literary criticism, from Ovid's doceredelictendo (toteachbydelighting), Aristotle's catharsis, and Longinus's concept of "transport" to late-nineteenth century belles-lettres and the contemporary Chicago Critics. For Wimsatt, the fallacy led to a number of potential errors, most of them related to emotional relativism. A view of literature based on its putative emotional effects will always be vulnerable to mystification and subjectivity; Wimsatt singles out the belletrist tradition exemplified by critics such as Arthur Quiller-Couch and George Sainsbury as an instance of a type of criticism that relies on subjective impressions and is thus unrepeatable and unreliable.
From the above cited references, it is crystal clear that we must evaluate friendship in the real perspective and be not over swayed by the false emotionalism on Face book. The images/ profile pics and all the terms used thereon are devoid of emotions, affections and understanding. When it comes to an adversity a Face book friend can’t come to our help. It is the realistic and natural one who will be at our disposal. Face book is just a platform of communication and not for emotion. If used for emotions, we are bound to be exploited by person at another end. In today’s times, 90% of the people are busy with social media and having no business at all. There is a common sense that how can we trust a person who has created even a Face book account with false credentials and snap chat photos that make a monster out of an angel and an angel out of a monster. Hence, the two writers that I have referred to above must be read as a matter of understanding and appreciation of not only a literary text, but a textbook of friendship also. Most of the friendships, as of now, are based on wrong intimacies which later on turn into sexual exploitation and harassment. Very often the innocent children are emotionally exploited on Facebook and other social media platforms.
Concluding my write up I would like to put forth a modest proposal to our young minds that if you want ta make friends, make it with your parents and siblings. My suggestions to this darling are like make friends with your real-life partner once you are formally married. Make friends with your classmates when you are under studies. Make friends with your teachers, but within certain limitations and moral boundaries. Don’t be emotionally exploited while making friends with an American or Canadian who doesn’t even know your address. And whom you even don’t know by face or address. Human behaviour is very unpredictable and can’t be judged immediately. When it is masked with social media it becomes more dangerous and snare. The way forward is to be like an ordinary man and following the simple track of nature. The people in your immediate contact are the best people for you can judge them in the sense that whether they are worth to be made friends with or not. And the artificial friends are of no worth and value at all. The illustrations from Julius Caesar are an eye opener for all of us and the illustrations from Prophet’s Life are the guiding principles for us. We must follow our real hero and guide- Prophet Muhammad in each and every sphere of our life that will definitely safeguard us from the Satins roaming in the Heavenly- Hell.

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