LETS GET POLITICAL....OR NOT It honestly somewhat amazes me still how polarized America seems to be. When I say America I might as well refer to my neighbors on facebook. When it comes to any hot button issue such as Obama, immigration, Israel, Palestine, the situation down in Texas, healthcare, global warming, WAR, HobbyLobby, guns, religious freedom, etc., it seems that so many of my facebook neighbors are sitting loudly, proudly, and often, it would appear, intolerantly on opposite ends of the world. Anyone who doesnt agree with one side or the other is automatically deemed as evil and/or a Neanderthal. I am not saying that it isnt okay and even right to hold to a very strong position from time to time. Sometimes our understanding of goodness leads us to have no choice but be polarizing. I do not think that is what I see most often though. I think what I see most often is people who enjoy thinking they are more intelligent than another group of people. I think I see people who actually enjoy the experience of rejecting and disliking another group of people. How is it possible that on all these issues (and many more) both teams could have so much uniformity? I mean, it wouldnt seem that weird on one or two issues, but how can reality be so simple as to be a check box on a whole range of issues and everyone on one team agrees whole heartedly about these 20 issues and everyone on the other team disagrees in the exact same way on all 20 issues. It doesnt seem rationally possible for reality to be that clear and easy. It would seem, at this point, we might as well walk into a voters booth and hear, For any issue in life whatsoever, there is either Team A or Team B. How can there not be any room for nuance, paradox, or moderation? I dont need to watch FoxNews or MSNBC....it is always right here on facebook. LOL. How can there never be room to actually see both sides of an argument? Maybe we cant and shouldnt always be able to see both sides, but never? Come on? Seriously though? Do we really think that highly of our ability to always be right?.... and that lowly of those around us that we just know they are always wrong? It is no bit of irony to me that we live in a world that preaches tolerance, but really has very little consideration, patience, or humility towards anyone who would dare have a different position about ANYTHING. Dont get me wrong, I believe in truth. I dont know how clear truth can be within the world of politics, but nevertheless, I believe. I have just been wrong enough that I am willing to listen to other people. I have seen my own bias enough to understand it is there. Just remember that these people that we post our moral condemnation and intellectual superiority over are our actual neighbors who live down the actual road. The same neighbors who sit at their kitchen tables with their families just like we do. The same neighbors who cry at funerals just like we do. The same neighbors who put their pants on one leg at a time and go to a job they dont enjoy just like we do. Be kind for goodness sake.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 15:39:23 +0000
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