I don't know myself the way I'd like to. The older I get, the more I realize this. I know what I value and what my priorities are, but physically, mentally and emotionally, it's hard for me to see a red flag pop up internally like many others do. When I'm in a low place, sometimes I don't realize it. When I need something to heal, or recover, I don't often realize it until later stages, or until something comes along that is good for me and I realize how therapeutic it is. The older I get, the more I also realize how unhealthy I am in some ways. I don't think I have always been unhealthy in certain aspects. I don't think I was this depressive my entire life.
Current affairs have really made a big impact on me. It isn't all black or white. When I look to see other's reactions to things, I see more and more shades of grey than I used to think there was. I also know that humans can agree on so much if a subject has an opportunity to be discussed on a deeper level than just face value. Just for an example, we can take big vs. small government. No responsible citizen wants the government involved in every aspect of our lives. What people want is accountability. If there isn't an entity holding irresponsible citizens accountable for reckless behavior, we as a society regress. Another one. Nobody is pro-abortion. People that fight for the choice to abort a baby cares about the mother more than the fetus. They care about quality of life. They care about women being treated as human first, giving them the opportunity to choose what happens with her body and her child.
When discussing sensitive issues in an ideal world, we learn and grow from what others have to say. The tricky part is when emotion gets involved. Humans are heavily susceptible to logical fallacies. We like to think our perspective is right, so we'll use trump cards over someone that disagrees with us to win. Trump cards are rarely sound. The problem is, we rarely take the time to examine our arguments to see if they hold water or sink. We partly ignore inspection because we fear the derailing of our perspective. We end up yelling at each other, burning bridges and never rise and grow from our interactions because we don't want to listen and we don't want to give the other side an inch.
I have experienced a lot of rage over the past few days because from my perspective, certain things have been said that are subhuman. Things such as commenting on Michelle Obama being a man. Not only is it despicable to make snide remarks about her, it tells those around you that you are ignorant and you are being willingly ignorant. Add to it the fact you are racist. Racism isn't ideal for everyone, but it is ideal for some. Some humans want to be and feel superior to others in different ways. Religion does that. Whether you believe it or not, many major religions teach that. They encourage gaslighting and ethnocentrism. They train believers to not fully accept outsiders until their thinking is in line with yours. Racism persists partly because we allow it to. Racism exists because we try and shut down others fighting it because we don't agree with how they fight it.
Mental gymnastics to try and rationalize someone's behavior or words should be a red flag from the get-go. An enemy of your enemy is not always your friend. This goes back to the black or white fallacy. Just because someone disagrees with your enemy doesn't mean you should agree with them. If a person absolutely didn't want Hillary Clinton to be president for whatever reason, that doesn't mean her main opponent is qualified in the smallest degree to be. Granted, our two-party system and electoral college isn't the best example. We have been told for decades that we have a choice between two people. This isn't democracy.
Why do we accept things when they go against our better nature? Why do we accept things told to us by people in certain positions and prioritize the calling rather than the soundness of the content of what they are saying. Every single thing should have merit based on the content, not on who said it. This is the genetic fallacy in part, and an appeal to authority. Americans have padded themselves with such a comfortable lifestyle that privilege trumps decency and rights trump knowledge and understanding. In the year 2017, we have groups of people that still think vaccinations cause autism, the earth is flat, and/or the earth is only 6,000 years old. Any rudimentary studying into the Old Testament will tell you the stories were never meant to be literal. Yet, we have entire groups of people that base their whole worldview on this idea. This idea impacts not only quality of life, but it can also be a matter of life or death. Call that an extreme position if you like, but it's true if you have a legislator who passes or kills a law based on this position. A law which then gives authorization to law enforcement to go out among the citizens and negatively impact members of society.
What is frustrating to me currently is the fact that countless individuals are willing and blatant about their own ignorance. They don't want to learn or be objective about anything. They wish to stay ignorant, plug their ears and shout from the rooftops their myths and half-truths, not caring the impact it has on other, unsuspecting ignorant individuals. This isn't going to stop anytime soon. We aren't going to see a society governed by science and responsibility in our lifetime.
