Building Bridges, Or, Burning Them?

Abstract

A Society member recently pointed out to me his assessment of the Pakistan Heart Journal policy in particular pointing to the Editorials. He thought that certain people took offense to criticism, a few to the point of seeing the editorials as personal attacks. Even though he said he personally thought that only ultimate good can come out of well placed criticism, he added it did not augur well for the editor personally. “You will end up making more enemies than friends’ he said. “The local community is not mature enough to accept such open criticism ‘ he concluded, “You must build more bridges than you burn’.A society’s journal is, or, should be more than a scientific document. It should attempt to evaluate and improve on the status quo’ especially if things are far from ideal in that field.When individuals become strong, institutions, traditions and standards become weak and vice versa. Let each one look inside him and ask if he willing to build institutions and stick to standards even at a cost to his person. A society’s journal must reflect the finest aspirations of its membership. My assessment of the membership has so far given me the courage to be bold.