Raise your hand if you’re tired of misinformation hurting people. Irrespective of each of our differences in political party, religion, or worldview, aren’t we all exasperated? We all can get fired up because deep within us we want the truth. The problem is we each think we have the truth, and we can easily point to the group whom we believe is responsible for the toxic ideas polluting our nation. What is truth, and can it truly be known? Or will everything we hear be questioned as possible fake news or conspiracy, causing us to live in fear and mistrust of information from now on? Whatever is true, I want to believe that, but it’s difficult to know what or whom to trust anymore. Everyone claiming to have “truth” promotes it with passionate conviction, yet with so many conflicting ideas out there, truth can seem elusive and relative.
The word I keep hearing people say over and over as of late is “crazy.” The world is crazy. That woman wearing a mask is crazy. That man preaching at me why I shouldn’t be wearing a mask is crazy. Crazy ideas, crazy governors, crazy tragedies in a crazy year…and on and on it goes. We see “crazy” all around us, but none of us thinks what we believe is crazy. If we did, we’d stop believing said “craziness” and believe something more reasonable! Before we write the label “crazy” on the ideals of our family, friends, or anyone else doing something different than what we would do, we should practice kindness and empathy, for many reasons. (And let me just take a moment to say I’m definitely talking to myself here too.)
Not everyone knows what you know. Not everyone comes from the same socioeconomic or religious background as you, nor were they conditioned to believe what you believe. Not everyone has the same social media ads coming at them day in and day out as you do. Not everyone has the same information you have. If they have access to it, it may be buried in endless layers of media and cultural biases. We go to the internet, books, or people we trust when we’re desperate for answers…for the truth. Everyone has a reason for their current state of mind. We all are humans wanting a better world. We want to be heard, we want our liberties protected, and we feel justified in our “crazy” beliefs when we see the world we believe in seemingly falling apart.
With so much diversity in beliefs, is it even possible for this nation to stand for some sort of ultimate truth in all things, and to be “indivisible with liberty and justice for all”? It’s a poetic notion that’s been promoted and romanticized over the years. But if we all get the liberty we want, would any of us end up actually getting what we want? Many of our liberties would infringe upon others’ liberties, leading to chaos. Isn’t that where we’re at now? This past week we saw some crazy ideas play out violently and disgracefully at the heart of our country for everyone to see. (The attack on the Capitol.) There’s a line from Captain America: Civil War, which really resonates right now. “I knew I couldn’t kill them. More powerful men than me have tried. But if I could get them to kill each other… An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within? That’s dead…forever.”
What has happened to our morality and common humanity? We live in a world where social media and artificial intelligence are taking over our reason and emotional intelligence. We are so caught up in feeling justified in our beliefs and quick to prove our points that we seem to forget we are all human beings. We have to stop this madness or we will collectively destroy ourselves. Should we really keep fighting fire with fire and expect it to go out? Can we just decide to put aside our differences and do the work it takes to understand people and respect everyone’s basic rights to life? Can we stop letting rage and hatred win? Is peaceful dialogue too much to ask for? Is it even possible at this point? Or are we divisible beyond repair, far too entrenched behind dividing lines of diversity and malice?
Regardless of each of our political views, isn’t fear at the heart of all of this? Fear of our voice not being heard, fear of not being safe, and fear of inequality? Aren’t we all just afraid of our liberties being taken away?
Maybe I’m just ridiculously idealistic to the core, but in reality don’t we all want to live in a world full of grace, kindness, and rationality? Right now it feels like we’re bombarded with so much of the opposite, making it hard to see that there is still goodness in the world in the midst of chaos. We don’t have to agree on everything in life. We don’t have to agree on much of anything really, but we do have to agree to respect each other. It seems so simple and yet so daunting at the same time. When you look at the news, do you think it’s possible? When you look at your part of the world, does it seem a little more attainable? What if we all decided it’s going to start with us, in the normal every day moments? Maybe we could mend the divisions between us. I know, I know, it sounds cheesy, and maybe even a little bit…crazy…
“Is this the world you want? You’re making it every day you’re alive.” ~ Switchfoot
January 10, 2021
Blue Moon Muse 