It is a commonly held belief today. "The Right" (whatever that may designate) is an arrogant group of opinionated people who have no regard for others and their beliefs. They are intolerant and judgmental. Oh ... and they are wrong.
Have you ever noticed that it always seems to go one way and not the other? "You guys are wrong and I'm right." Next, "If you disagree with me, you're just an idiot. (See statement 1.)" What most people never seem to realize is that everyone thinks they're right. No one would hold any opinion at all if they didn't think it was right. And most of us would agree that having no opinion at all would be a bad thing.
People draw conclusions based on what they believe to be true. Changing those views is quite often a difficult and time-consuming task. However, it is a basic truth that each of us believes what we believe is the truth. So why is it that, for instance, the Right is arrogant and opinionated and not anyone else? In fact, the truth is that everyone is opinionated. We all have our own firm opinions. Even if your own opinion is that "all opinions have equal value", it is likely that you are dogmatic about that opinion. I would go on to argue that most people have little regard for the beliefs of others. Why? Because of how many times I've been told, "You Christians are judgmental and intolerant", a very judgmental and intolerant statement. Because I've heard the very same thing from "the Right" about "the Left" ... and from the middle about both ends.
The fear, it seems, is division. Truth claims are divisive. I can offer you a question -- "What is 2 + 2?" -- and the answers are extremely limited. You may answer "4" or "addition" or even "math" and that's fine. You may not answer any other number, any other mathematical function, or the nearly infinite number of other possible answers and be correct. It is not "zoology" or "green" or "pig". Truth claims limit the answers in every case. So if you think that you are "open-minded" and "tolerant", there are only two possibilities. Either you are so open-minded that your brains leaked out, or you're lying to yourself.
Perhaps we ought to learn to be more careful when we approach people of differing opinion. It is mandatory that you differ (or it wouldn't be a "differing opinion"), but it is not required that you belittle the one who holds the opinion or accuse them of being what you are if you do -- intolerant. By all means discuss differences of opinions. (I really dislike "agree to disagree".) Share your view, defend it, explain it, examine it. Absolutely. There's just no need to get nasty about it, is there? Because for every view you have, someone else has an equally strong view and when you turn ugly in a discussion, it is more likely to reflect badly on you (and, it follows, your view) than to settle anything at all.
1 comment:
I like to think that despite how strongly I hold my views, that I am still open to a good argument. I like to say at my blog, that I'm here to persuade and to be persuaded. Neither has really happened as far as I can remember. But I truly believe that I am more than willing to change if a good argument convinces me to do so. That would mean that I would have no counter at any point in the discussion, or than any counter I offer is then countered by my opponent. Eventually, one of us runs out of counters. What happens then determines who has the stronger argument at the very least (a strong argument is no guarantee of truth or facts, but only that the other lacks an even stronger counter). At best we find that one changes his tune and is, at least until a better argument comes along, enlightened.
In the end, it isn't so much that I insist I'm right, but that a better argument has not yet been offered.
The worst part of such engagements is when one party refuses to be persuaded and then runs away as if the other is just too damned stubborn or irrational. (I'm generally considered "the other".)
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