I call myself a liberal, but what irks me the most is not conservative values. I HATE it when people shut others down or disregard someone’s thoughts completely just because of what party or political side they identify with. Think about it: You aren’t being written off because they don’t agree with what you have to say. You are being shut down because they don’t agree with who you are. And the idea of that disgusts me.
Growing up in an pretty conservative community, I was frustrated that a lot of people never wanted to hear me out because I’m pretty liberal. I called it ignorance, but I only associated it with conservative values. Coming to Berkeley, the alleged land of the leftists, I thought I would get away from all that. But I found myself feeling unsettled again. For a while I thought: “Am I not as liberal as I think I am? Am I really a centrist or something?” But I’m realizing that the rub lies in the fact that even here there is still a substantial amount of blind support (Kony 2012 anyone?) and an unwillingness to acknowledge the other side. The only difference now is that conservatives are in the minority.
Now, I’ve done my fair share of Republican-bashing (Sarah Palin was my kryptonite; she was more appealing than Hillary Clinton because she was “sexier”, never mind the fact that her arguments were composed 75% of winks to the audience, while Clinton was just “too aggressive”. Because of course only men can be aggressive and still be likeable...Sorry, I digress. And feel free to disagree with me. ) But I do NOT, like some people I’ve come across, think that the Republican party should cease to exist, while only the supposedly “sane” democratic party exists. I’m pretty sure that’s the definition of an oligarchy anyway.
It would be ideal if party alignments didn’t have as much sway as they do, so that people would consider the actual issue or candidate, rather than the color of the campaign. Ron Paul was on campus today, and I listened for a few minutes. While I didn’t agree with some things, I was happily surprised to see that I resonated with more than I expected.
But here’s the thing. Generalizations are just so easy, and they help us make sense of the world. Still, it’s good to know when to let them go. So my humble suggestion is to have an open relationship with generalizations; be aware that they exist, but don’t be afraid to have an affair with the exceptions. In less euphemistic terms, it’s as simple as this: whether you think you will agree or not, listen, really listen to what is being said. Either you’ll learn something new, or you’ll gain a stronger sense of what you already believed in. Win-win.
I think people in today's society have become so accustomed to the "fast-food" mentality that they treat most other aspects of their lives the same way. "If media is serving it to me on a platter then that is what I want to believe in, because I am too lazy to occupy my mind with some critical thinking and learn to draw conclusions from that," is the new Mantra. So I definitely agree with you, but then you already knew that!
ReplyDeleteYES that's exactly what it seems like. "Fast-food mentality" is the perfect way to put it. It's like the definition of who we are is rooted in laziness. But I also think we just accept whatever it is as fact, and don't recognize the need to look further. Which is kind of sad. But I guess that's what the next generation is for. You can help me teach my kids to be independent thinkers.
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