I received some valuable feedback to yesterday’s post (Simplicity is comfort) and a few people remarked that they were pleased that I made efforts not to limit my intended audience to those who tend to align with me on most issues. I thought it would be useful to explain what I’m trying to do and why I came to this position so here are a few words that express these ideas. Hopefully.
Informed decision
My self-restraint, in this and other pursuits, is intentional and I choose it with full knowledge that unfettered tribalism tends to attract a more zealous, supportive audience than moderation and diplomacy ever will. But my goal in writing is not to gain notoriety or riches, it’s to alleviate my anxiety by expressing ideas that burden my mind, so I’m not overly concerned about how I’m perceived by others. Instead, I try to focus on the positive effect I want to have on others and, in doing so, on myself.
The nature of our disagreements
It seems to be human nature to consider unreliable and reject any discourse that seems unfairly critical or hostile toward an opinion we hold on political, economical, and social matters. Over the last few years, I’ve found myself increasingly the victim of just that phenomena and I worry that it signals a degradation of public discourse that I would very much like to see reversed. It might be a fruitless but I’ve often prided myself in remaining an optimist in the face of impossible odds… which has caused my downfall countless times, to be fair, yet here I am, resolute.
A way out?
It seems to me that our best chance at achieving the future we desire depends on our ability to remain focused on our common values and ideals instead of allowing our passions to get the better of us and strengthen the ferocity of our disagreements.
In other words, all decent people want the same outcome for humanity and the world (more peace, well-being, and prosperity / less pollution, suffering, and destruction) but we struggle to make any progress because we disagree so vehemently on the course of action that will take us there. With this in mind, we would do well to take a step back and realize that despite our differences, our common values and good intentions are what fuel both our support for those we view as allies and our scorn for those we view as enemies.
Reality is a b-word
I realize that ending the nasty debates we find on social media, in political circles, and everywhere else will be a lot harder than interjecting ourselves between people and telling them to consider that the other is, at their core, probably a decent person. But if we internalize these ideas, maybe they’ll have a positive influence on the way we comport ourselves and influence others to do the same.
In closing
Our good fortune depends on our willingness to be civil even with those who oppose us on matters of critical importance because to do otherwise is to condemn our society to ever-increasing bitterness and frustration. And if history has taught us anything, it’s that you can only repress those feelings so much within a population before the seams start to fail and the pressure is released in an uncontrollable manner. Or not. What do I know? And what did I just write? Probably nonsense, but it’s 2:45 PM, I haven’t had lunch yet, and I need sustenance so I guess I’ll make peace with the imperfection of this post and hit “Publish”.
Johny.ca 