Marlon continued, more sharply, "Remember, Romo. That ustaz is just one person. But the people listening to him are many. When you say you're trying to prevent harm, whose harm are you protecting? Is it to prevent the ustaz from being embarrassed and becoming defensive? Or to prevent the audience from misunderstanding and carrying that mistake into their lives, teaching it to their children, and eventually creating a wider chain of ignorance?"
Pak Herman raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Whoa, that's a heavy question."
Riri nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this is not an easy dilemma."
Romo took a deep breath, then replied calmly, "I wouldn't cut his sermon off right away, unless the mistake he made was critical and directly affected the people there. If it's a minor error, I'd wait until the event ends and talk to him privately."
Marlon still wasn't satisfied. "And if the mistake is serious?"
Romo leaned back against the sofa. "If it's a mistake that could seriously mislead people's thinking, I'd find a way to correct it on the spot without sounding confrontational. Maybe by asking a question rather than directly contradicting him."
Marlon scoffed quietly. "So you still wouldn't interrupt him directly?"
Romo shook his head. "Not in a confrontational way. Because if he feels humiliated, he'll most likely get defensive and reject the truth, which would only make the mistake stronger in his mind—and in the minds of his followers."
Marlon crossed his arms. "But what if, because of our 'gentle' approach, the mistake actually spreads further? People go home carrying the wrong understanding, teach it to their kids, and a whole generation grows up with a false mindset—just because we chose to protect one person's feelings instead of saving many others from false beliefs."
Pak Herman chuckled. "Oof, Romo's getting a barrage of attacks here."
Romo gave a small smile, but his eyes stayed serious. "That's the biggest dilemma in conveying the truth. If you want people to accept it, you have to make them willing to listen. If you attack directly, they'll shut their ears and reject it, even if you're right. But if you're too gentle, the mistake might spread further. That's why da'wah (religious preaching) has strategies, communication methods, social psychology—all of that must be considered."
Riri paused, then asked, "So in the end, we're choosing between two harms? Letting the ustaz say something wrong, or making him defensive so he won't accept the truth?"
Romo nodded. "Yes, and in such situations, we have to choose the one with the lesser impact."
Marlon sighed. "But I still feel there's a huge danger in letting the mistake spread first."
Pak Herman looked at Marlon with a smile. "So you'd rather correct it on the spot?"
Marlon nodded firmly. "Yes, if the mistake is serious and dangerous, I'll correct it immediately. Maybe not in a confrontational way, but I'd make sure the audience knows that there's misinformation before they go home with a wrong understanding."
Romo looked at Marlon thoughtfully, then gave a slight smile. "In that case, you've chosen your own path. Everyone has their way of facing and delivering truth. What matters is making sure our good intentions don't end up causing greater harm."
Marlon still stared at Romo thoughtfully, his hands clasped, fingers moving as if counting something in the air.
"Harm will always exist, Mo." He sighed briefly, then continued, "But in that kind of situation, harm is a matter of quantity. As long as the good outweighs the bad, I think that's a better outcome."
Romo raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Marlon shifted in his seat, leaning back a little. "Look, earlier you said that if I correct the ustaz publicly, he might get defensive and reject the truth, right?"
Romo nodded.
"But on the other hand," Marlon continued, "if I stay silent, many people will misunderstand. Okay, maybe the ustaz becomes stubborn when corrected in public, but if the mistake is left unchallenged, more people will be affected."
Pak Herman chuckled, crossing his arms. "Now we're getting into moral cost-benefit analysis."
Riri added, "Yeah, so Marlon is more focused on the mass effect than the individual one?"
Marlon nodded firmly. "Exactly. If I can correct one person but let hundreds be misled, isn't that worse? I'd rather correct it publicly—even if the ustaz is offended—as long as more people get the truth."
Romo gave a slight smile, but his eyes remained serious. "The issue, Mar, is that humans don't operate based on numbers alone. There's a psychological impact to consider. If that offended ustaz feels attacked and then starts clinging to his mistake even more, he might spread it wider by rallying support from his followers."
Marlon didn't respond immediately. He fell silent in thought.
Pak Herman joined back in. "I get where both of you are coming from. Marlon emphasizes the quantity of good that can be gained in the moment, while Romo is more concerned about the long-term effects if the person who's wrong becomes more defensive."
Marlon looked back at Romo. "Still, Mo, I believe it's better if someone dares to speak out against that kind of mistake right then and there. At least there's some resistance to the misinformation, instead of letting it spread freely."
Romo gave a small smile. "And that's why there are two approaches to delivering the truth. Some people are direct and firm, others are more strategic and gradual."
Riri crossed her arms. "What's interesting is, if we look at history, prophets and philosophers also had different ways of conveying the truth. Some were bold and direct, others were gentle and gradual."