October 6, 2010

My Rant - A Piece of My Mind


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Writ:

There has been a lot going through my mind lately. A lot of personal things, ideas, endeavors, and opinions. Some of those things, I have really wanted to stand up and shout. People that are hypocrites. Ideas that are ridiculous. Statements that are laughable if they weren't hurtful. I see, hear, and read things everyday, online, on campus, on the bus, on the tv, on the radio, in the sky, in magazines, all over. Sometimes it makes my blood boil. Sometimes my heart cringes. Sometimes I tear up. Sometimes I laugh condescendingly.

I am an avid political junky, or to use a new word I learned from David, a wonk. I can identify nearly all heads of departments in the White House. I can name all political party, senate, and house leaders. I can tell you whose up in the polls in what state, and what is the latest gossip in the beltway. Im a nerd to say the least.

I use to think that the way I thought, was correct, and everyone who disagreed was mislead, or mistaken in their views. I thought, If I can just explain to them clearly enough they will understand that I am right, and all will be well. I would argue continuously to convert them to my political beliefs. I knew they were walking in political darkness.

Then I grew up. I realized that people didn't disagree with me because they were confused. People disagreed with me because they had a different end view. What they were working for was different then what I was working for.


They weren't trying to destroy America, they were trying to create a country they honestly thought was best. I disagree 100% with their view of a utopian America, but I could not change their mind to what I thought, because I had a different vision of what a good America looked like. The point of arguing was useless because there was a fundamental difference in what we were working towards. I saw A and they saw B. I saw Black and they saw White.

I stopped trying to convert their thinking. I would discuss, and share my vision and why I thought it was best, and then I would listen to their vision and why they thought it was best. We would dive into policies and what was at the root of our beliefs of those policies, but in the end we agreed to disagree.

Agreeing to disagree doesn't mean I go and hang their political bumper stickers on my car. It doesn't mean I support their way of thinking. I mean, I can live next to them, without yelling at them everyday. I don't expect them to vote how I will vote. I don't expect them to come to my political rallies with me to show support. It means we wave and talk about our life and struggles, with a genuine smile and a honest ear.

If they vote for a candidate I whole heartedly disagree with, I don't call them a bigot and delete them from my Facebook friend list. If I don't vote for the ballot measure they support and talked to me about, it doesn't mean they stand on my front lawn yelling that I am a person filled with hate, or I should just keep quiet.

There are fundamental differences in beliefs. Because I disagree with someone, doesn't mean they need to shut up, because their view is hurtful to me. Because someone disagrees with me doesn't mean they need to stay home and not vote because they are voting for something I disagree with. If everyone who disagreed with me stayed home and shut up, where would the diversity come from?

People call others bigots, and haters. Others call people stupid and close minded. Those who yell these phrases, in my mind, are the bigots, the haters, the stupids and the close minded people.

Someone who calls another person close minded is, in my view, more close minded then the person they point their finger at. The man who yells bigot across the road is more of a bigot than they who he accuses. The woman who proclaims someone is filled with hate, has hate steaming out of her own ears.

A democracy is a place where one can share their idea without being shouted down. Where a honest belief can be proclaimed without fear of being ridiculed in public or private.

I warn those who proclaim others are bigots, hateful, shameful, hypocrites, ignorate, etc., to take a close look at yourself. Take a close look at the kind of world you want to live in. You say you want your voice to be heard, while you attempt to stop the voices of others. Watch yourself. Watch your own hypocrisy. Mind your own narrow-mindedness. Remember your own life experiences have brought you to the current and future views of what you want the world and society to be. Remember at the same time that the one you are trying to silence has a different view of what they want the world and society to be.

We are different, and that is a good thing. We can live together, in a world, with vastly opposing views. With fundamental core principles, morals, values, and dreams. Stop the yelling, and stop the finger pointing. Mind you own beam, before you attempt to fix their mote. Stop telling someone their view is wrong, simply because you disagree with it. When we all stop worrying about correcting other people, we can then begin to live together and work together.

4 comments:

  1. A democracy is a place where one can share their idea without being shouted down. Where a honest belief can be proclaimed without fear of being ridiculed in public or private.

    I disagree. :)

    "Honest beliefs" are not automatically exempt from ridicule, democracy or no.

    When those beliefs are founded on false premises or ignorance, or when they are foolish, or (especially) when they are harmful to others, they deserve to be examined and criticized and yes, even ridiculed.

    Some things (such as political ideologies) are subjective. Opposing opinions can be entirely valid and worthy of respect.

    Other things are much more objective, and "opinion" cannot change what is true and what is false.

    A person who "honestly believes" that the sun revolves around the earth is at best ignorant (uneducated with the facts) and at worst a fool (blindly ignoring truth in order to dogmatically and stubbornly maintain his views).

    A person who disagrees with President Obama's politics (because, as you say, he has a differing view of what would make this country better) is justified. A person who "honestly believes" that President Obama is a Muslim is a fool. A person who "honestly believes" that President Obama's religious affiliation (be it Christian, Muslim, or whatever) has any bearing on his ability to lead this country is a bigot.

    A person who believes that homosexual relationships are condemned by God is exercising subjective faith in his deity and is free to share his belief. A person who ignores ever-increasing evidence of the biological and genetic components of homosexuality and declares that God "would not make someone" that way is a fool. A person who insists that gay people are "unnatural" and "unholy" and who fights to deprive those who are different than him of the rights that he enjoys is a bigot.

    Ignoring, accepting, and tolerating foolishness and bigotry will only perpetuate them. Exposing foolishness and bigotry for what they are (even with ridicule) contributes to their eradication.

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  2. When those beliefs are founded on false premises or ignorance, or when they are foolish, or (especially) when they are harmful to others, they deserve to be examined and criticized and yes, even ridiculed.

    And who gets to decide what is false and what is true. Truth, in a worldly sense, is non existant. Truth is spoken from those who have power. Power sets what is truth and what is not.

    Pres. Obama is a christian and was born in the USA. In that I want to be clear. But people back in the day who said the world was flat, were speaking truth. It wasnt until years later they were proven to be wrong. What is "truth" today, can change tomorrow.

    Eggs were once scientifically bad and harmful you your body. Then they were good, Then bad, and then good again.

    Ignoring, accepting, and tolerating foolishness and bigotry will only perpetuate them. Who decides what is foolishness and bigotry? Mass media? 50 years ago married couples slept in different beds.
    Pop Culture? Ten years ago Back Street Boys were kings of pop. Education? 40 years ago the computer was never in use. Who decides what is right and what is wrong in a worldly sense?

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  3. Truth, in a worldly sense, is non existant. Truth is spoken from those who have power. Power sets what is truth and what is not.

    I'm not trying to be inflammatory... But that's ridiculous.

    [Objective] truth doesn't change. Our understanding of it does, to be sure. That's kind of my whole point, really. Dogmatically sticking to a particular understanding of the "truth" when observation and evidence demonstrate it to be erroneous is the exact foolishness I was talking about.

    Those who taught that the earth was flat before it could be objectively demonstrated that such is not the case can be forgiven for their ignorance. Those who continued to maintain that belief when it had been proven false were foolish.

    Those who believed that homosexuality was a chosen mindset and behavior pattern can be excused for believing so before investigation and experimentation and mountains of evidence demonstrated that this is not, in fact, the case. Those who continue to believe that this is the case are being deliberately obstinate and, yes, foolish.

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  4. Hi! Your blog was recommended to me as a great one for a project I am working on for a digital publishing company - gathering the best of blogs written on the topic Homosexuality and the Mormon Church. If you are at all interested in being included, and for more information, please email me at emily.pearson@gmail.com

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    ReplyDelete