Today it’s impossible not to hear people’s thoughts about various subjects. Religion and politics, the two subjects that have caused wars for centuries seem to be on the top of the list. People just don’t want to state their beliefs they want to convince you that yours are wrong. When you don’t agree they tell you that you are not intelligent.
I’ve read belligerent comments on public posts on social media where strangers go at it, trying to prove the other incorrect. People don’t realize that their opinions aren’t necessarily based on fact, they are based on perception. There are many things that affects one’s viewpoint, such as education, religion, political affiliation, race, socioeconomic status, life experiences, etc.
The media has become so slanted that one has to do their own research just to find out whether the topic is leaning left or right. When you approach something from the left or right your aspect is narrow. When you come from the middle you can see both sides and have a more rounded perspective.
We have become a society of black and white thinkers. Unfortunately nothing in the world is black or white. There are so many shades of grey. But because people are set in their notions it’s difficult for them to see anything beyond their own ideology. It’s unfortunate and seems as if it’s getting worse.
We cannot all become clones of one another and we certainly should be able to have and speak our own truth. People want to define and label everything today. They want to be recognized and be heard but they don’t want to hear others if what the other speaks doesn’t coincide with what they feel.
A week ago I met a newer friend for lunch. We chatted about life, kids, politics and religion, really not knowing what the other’s stance was. We had two different philosophies on certain subjects but it was a wonderful conversation where two people listened, learned and genuinely wanted to understand the other person’s school of thought. The conversation was respectful and we both walked away feeling heard and not judged.
That’s how great thinkers of the world in philosophy and science came across new discoveries and ideas. Because they kept their mind open to others’ observations and insights. They brainstormed and respectfully disagreed. George Eliot said, “it is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view”. In my humble opinion the only way for us to grow as an individual and a society is to keep our minds open.
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Previously Published on Medium.
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