Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Our own beliefs (and how others react to them)

When I think of how people react to a person's own beliefs, there is always that little memory of someone telling me that I am an idiot.  Why am I an idiot?  Because I don't believe the same things you do?  Because, according to you, I am uneducated?  Stupid?  Uninformed?  And one that just came to my mind, a conservative/liberal?


Yes, there you have it.  The conservative/liberal one has to be it.  It's the only one that really makes sense, especially for me.  I am educated.  A great public school education that I am proud to claim.  I am in college and actually passing my classes.  I read.  I am working on being multilingual.  I am a musician (sort of).  I can't really be uninformed if I watch any TV here in Wisconsin because there are so many helpful adds telling me to love/hate our own governor.  So the conservative/liberal one must be it.


But that one doesn't really work either, since I am neither.  I refuse to associate with those titles because they hold no meaning to me.  Today's conservatives were Lincoln's liberals, and vice versa.  I have different opinions on different topics which brand me an idiot, smart, a hypocrite, a morally outstanding person, a bigot, a bible thumper, a anti-feminist, a believer in rights, ect.  The list is endless, as are my own beliefs.  


So what makes people say this?  This one five letter word that really sets someone off.  My guess is that the person calling another an idiot is looking to set someone off.  When a person is angry, they are prone to make mistakes.  They may say or do something that they don't mean and it is then used against them.


But isn't there something else that can be said?  A word can only be used so many times before it loses the desired effect.  And, frankly, if the only rebuttle you have to someone defending their own ideals is "you're an idiot", don't you think that your just being lazy?  At least defend the reason, in a well thought out argument i should add, why this person is an idiot.  Otherwise you are just being lazy, which tops the charts for most people attacking a belief.


And let's all remember that only one side does the name calling.  Both Republicans and Democrats do this and, speaking from someone in the middle, it is the most ANNOYING thing ever.  Both sides claim to be the smarter ones.  But we, the ones who really don't take a side, see it for what this problem is.  Both sides are just too prideful to look at a problem from the other side of the canyon.  It's easier to hurt someone than to help and understand them.


And now I will leave you with this awesome quote said by one of humanities most brilliant people, Albert Einstein.  “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”   Those words could not be truer.  


Thanks for reading and putting up with my opinions. 

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