Passionate or Closed Minded

Perhaps it is our freedom of speech and freedom of expression, but we have moved from being a passionate people to be a polarized and closed minded people. We march in lock-step without genuine individual thought. We seek out and find sources of news, polls, and studies that support our convictions instead of testing our convictions by examining evidence that supports other views and beliefs. Fear drives our beliefs. In these United States of America, the home of the brave, it seems that we are afraid of everything. When did we become so afraid of everything?

We fear words! People cannot be old. People cannot be handicapped.  (My computer’s grammar checker just warned me about the word ‘handicapped’!  (Warning: “In this context, some readers may find handicapped biased or non-inclusive. Consider replacing it with a more neutral term.”). Every child receives a trophy because scores no longer matter. Children who call other children a name are bullies (which seems like name calling itself). The bloody noses and black-eyes of my youth, my experience of getting back up and fighting a bigger and stronger kid could result in expulsion from school or criminal charges. Why are we surprised when 30-year olds still live with mommy and daddy?

Read comments posted on news sites and count the number that is fear-based. Better still, count the number of comments that suggest an open-minded response. (Counting those willing to consider other opinions, or at least respecting those opinions are so few that counting those comments will be easy).

We dig in! We copy and paste bald-faced lies on websites and emails if they support our beliefs. A free and simple fact check on Google would reveal most of these copy and paste stories are lies. If a politician that we detest is the subject of some horrendous lie, we grab it and send it to our friends and post it on social media. I used to believe that people simply did not know how to find fact-checking websites, but I was wrong. People fear to discover that the latest gossip or chain-mail is a lie. A very close friend once sent me this e-mail: “I am not going to send any more of these posts to you because you always fact-check and discover they are hoaxes or lies. I will just send them to my friends and family.”  Think about that! I will only send hoaxes and lies to my friends and family!

Get past our fear. Remember that we live in the real world. Sometimes, what seems logical is not supported by evidence. Deliberately challenge our beliefs by searching for evidence that supports an opposite belief. Compromising to form laws, without compromising our core values is key to a working democracy. Anti-capitalists predicted that democracy would eventually become so polarized that the government would fail to function. Our first president, George Washington, feared political parties because they might bring about people more loyal to Party than Country.  Anti-capitalists also predicted that investors and owners of businesses would pursue profits at the expense of the workers. Labor is a large expense, so let’s buy workers in other countries.

We face serious problems (another inappropriate word- I should use ‘challenges’ so as not to upset anyone or cause worry and the hand-wringing). Serious problems require serious people that understand the problems. Bumper-sticker solutions need not apply.