I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s social media. Maybe it’s all the different twenty-four-hour news networks. Maybe people are just intellectually lazy and would rather watch Netflix than read a book or try to learn something (I suspect it’s probably this). Or maybe this generation just happens to be a generation full of self-absorbed assholes.
I am not quite sure what it is.
But I have noticed something recently. For some odd reason, all of a sudden, everybody thinks that they are right… About everything.
This is probably how it has always been. Maybe as social media has become more popular it has gotten worse.
Either way, everybody thinking that they are right all the time is a huge problem.
Two people who both think that they are right about a certain topic or issue probably won’t be able to have a rational conversation.
You see, if I am 100 percent convinced that I am right about something, I am probably not going to back down. And if you are 100 percent convinced that you are right about something, you probably won’t back down, either.
It would be pretty much impossible for us to have a rational discussion if we are both fully convinced in how we feel about something.
This — I believe — is the problem with people today.
Your perspective isn’t right
There isn’t a single person in this entire world who thinks exactly like you. What you must understand is that we all have different backgrounds. We all have had different childhoods and different experiences. And these differences will shape the way that we think and act.
This is actually a very beautiful concept if you are able to appreciate our differences.
But if you don’t learn to appreciate differences, then it can lead to a lot of ugliness.
Let me let you in on a little secret: Having the understanding that your perspective isn’t right is the key to becoming a much better person.
The people who think that they are right and everybody else is wrong are, well, just assholes. We have all heard the saying.
Have you ever stopped to think that maybe your perspective on a major issue isn’t the only one? And maybe that somebody else could have some good ideas, or that they just think a little bit different?
If you have, congrats. You have some humility within your soul. If you haven’t, then chances are you probably think that you are at the center of the universe.
Break the cycle
If you are a liberal, you can watch liberal news networks that reinforce your beliefs. And you also will probably hang out with people who share your beliefs. If you are a conservative, then you can watch conservative news networks and surround yourself with people that have similar opinions.
This is part of the problem.
Too many times, we put ourselves in a self-confirming bubble. If we believe something, it is only natural to look for ways to reinforce our belief.
But in doing this, our perspectives don’t grow at all. Instead, they get much smaller. The more you stay in your bubble, the smaller your perspective gets. And because of this, your ability to understand other perspectives gets significantly less effective.
This is why we need to break the cycle.
Instead of just looking for information that confirms your beliefs, it is important that we actually seek out opinions that we don’t agree with.
This will feel weird at first. It might make you angry. You’ll probably feel like you are losing brain cells.
But instead of just calling people stupid for their different beliefs, really try to understand their perspective and where they are coming from.
Read books on topics you don’t normally read. Watch news coming from the other side. Talk to people you don’t agree with.
Doing this will help you grow as a person and make you much more sympathetic to people who you don’t necessarily agree with.
Seek the truth, nothing else
When our own opinions get involved, it can become difficult to find the truth. And most of the time, we don’t really want to find the truth.
“The truth is that the truth was never high on the agenda of Homo Sapiens,” wrote Yuval Noah Harai in his book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.
It has been said that we are living in a ‘post truth era.’ Noah Harai would argue that we do live in a post-truth era, but it’s not because of social media or any other 21st century factor. It is because we are a post-truth species.
Humans are extremely gullible and can often be lured into biting on the hook of propaganda. But we must not fall for the shiny bait. We must know that often the truth is hard to uncover. While the lies and propaganda are often on the forefront, the truth is many layers deeper.
If we all make a better effort to find the truth and discard lies, the gap between two opposite sides will magically shrink, thus the problem with people today also disappearing.