It is obvious that our social and political structure in the United States is fractured. Our reliance on tribal vocabulary and communication is restricting the use our brains and critical thinking.  Keeps us from taking note of what is happening and what we are creating or destroying. We like to believe we are intelligent. I am not so sure, at least not as a group, maybe individually.

 

“Once people join a political team, they get ensnared in its moral matrix. They see confirmation of their grand narrative everywhere, and it’s difficult – perhaps impossible-to convince them they are wrong if you argue with them from outside of their matrix.”1

 

“Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into ideological teams that fight each other as thought the fate of the world depended on our side winning each battle. It blinds us to the fact that each team is composed of good people who have something important to say.”2

 

As F. Scott Fitzgerald noted, ” The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”

 

  1. “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics And Religion”. Haidt, Johathan. Vintage Books, New York, 2012. pg. 365.
  2. ibid. pg. 366.

“Can’t We All Get Along?” ¹

 

  • We don’t win every argument
    • We don’t agree on philosophical issues
      • We don’t agree on religious issues
        • We don’t agree on political elections and decisions
          • We don’t agree on facts, actual documented facts not opinions

 

Does any of this describe current state of affairs in relationships?

 

Just because we have different opinions should not be the basis for not getting along.

 

 

  1.  Rodney King, 5¹/1/1992

Many political, religious and philosophical entities rely on violence, hatred, bullying, and harassment to convince and/or require agreement and/or subjugation.

It is clear evidence of the weakness of their position.

Only weak individuals and believers require this behavior to promote their arguments.

We have long known that we make decisions based on emotion versus facts.

It is difficult to convince someone that the “facts” of the situation should rule our decisions and actions under “normal” circumstances. With the worldwide onslaught of emotionally biased statements, we are challenged as to what to believe.

As was stated recently by the Chinese Media “…It is necessary to strengthen screening and identify what is true false information …”1

We have all become too accustomed to believing what we want, to support our own conclusions, regardless of the basis of that conclusion.

  • How about we get off the roller coaster of emotional exchange and reset our preconceived perceptions?
  • How about starting with the use of “timeout” before responding to and attacking the other person and/or message?
  • How about showing others the same degree of respect we wish others to show us?
  • How about after some thought, we use some common sense?

 

 

  1. “Twitter blocked the account of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, Hua Chunying : I hope that Twitter will no double-label”; World.huanqui.com: 1/21/2021; Global Times-Global Network Reporter Bai Yunyi.