I read a post, last night, on a blog I read frequently. For some reason that I cannot explain, it struck me that the writer's experiences are viewed by people from all over...people who do not know her except for what she writes. That fascinated me. I imagined people reading the very brief recount of her experience in an Asian market; would other readers see that market the way I did, in my mind's eye?
Then I began to wonder how people experience the ideas and experiences and diatribes and howls of anger I post here on my blog. Occasionally, someone posts a comment, but I know there are people who visit periodically and leave as quietly as they arrived. I wonder if they perceive me, the writer, as an utter buffoon, whose rants give them the opportunity to feel better about themselves. I wonder if they are curious to know what kind of mind can enable me to laugh cruelly at the misfortunes of people I label idiot conservatives, yet be filled with empathy for a family a half a world away, whose home was washed away in a flood.
And then it strikes me. How would I judge a person who writes, like I often do, as if his point of view is the only 'right' one? I would label him arrogant, close-minded, and ignorant.
When I read right-wing bloggers (or newspaper reporters or editors) who call for the abandonment of any vestige of secularism in government, I want to shake the idiocy from the minds that spew such horseshit. But there is an equally absurd set of people (much closer to my way of thinking than I'm comfortable admitting) who would remove any trace of religion or spirituality from any forum at any time. When I'm in a more rational state of mind than is normal for me, I realize that there is room for compromise.
Sure, I'd rather everyone, worldwide, would abandon what I consider to be the fantasy of religion. But, realistically, that's not going to happen. It's no more likely to happen than it is that I will be able to convince the world that I perceive the color 'blue' in the only correct way. Similarly, people who hold deep religious beliefs are deluding themselves if they expect they will convince me to embrace a belief in a supreme being.
I find it interesting when I read some of my fellow atheists who call for religious zealots to acknowledge that atheists may be right that there is no god. Yet these same people, me included, are offended when religious people ask us to acknowledge that there may be a god. Both camps are so utterly, completely certain in their beliefs (or lack thereof), that they become intractable. How does one overcome such absolutism? The only way I know is to embrace tolerance. To me, tolerance is an attribute to wish for.
Tolerance is an interesting concept. To be racially tolerant is, in some quarters, viewed with disgust (if you "tolerate" the races, do you feel superior?). To be tolerant in the religious arena, though, is viewed (again, in some quarters) as a admirable characteristic. I suppose tolerance, in the religious sphere, is counterpoint to fanaticism.
Back to the original "aha!" moment. I'm going to try to find middle ground where I can. I think it's unhealthy to be as vehement as I tend to be about all manner of issues. One reason I want to reach toward the middle is that I want to be able to engage people in conversations and, perhaps, work to change their minds. I know I tend to simply shut down when confronted with a rabid right-winger and I suspect they tend to shut down when confronted by me in my left-wing glory. If I can at least engage them in conversations, maybe I'll be able to change their minds.
Finally, my absolute certainty about some things has left little room for me to learn about some things. Even if I don't believe what I hear, I think I can learn by at least listening to other points of view.
There are plenty of things I simply won't buy. But I'm going to try to understand others' perspectives when they don't agree with mine. And then I'm going to deliberately try to bring them over to my way of thinking, just as they will try to do the same. But I'll win. I just know it.
No comments:
Post a Comment