the wise hypocrisy

sometimes you have to take a step back, look at yourself, and identify the stereotypes you embody. there is nothing like a reality check when you can connect your thoughts and arguments to already identified character types. there is no better cure to arrogance then recognizing your own hypocrisies.

if the world were a giant swimming pool, the shallow end would be over crowded with folks who have limited perspectives and expectations on life... and a decent percentage of whom are happy in that state. none of whom deserve judgement by a so called "thinker" simply for staying where their feet are firmly on solid ground.

they grow up, have a family, grow old, and die without much significance. and they are fine, if not proud of that. and they visit and interact with others and assume everyone has the same basic set of values and perspective, except for those who mean them harm. And that keeps them happy, or at least content. a position i envy at times.

the deep end will have fewer people and even fewer truly happy. they swim between various levels of thought not quite satisfied in any position. they do not deserve the resentment of those who do not understand the burning questions, let alone the pursuit of those answers.

but the disturbing thing is, while i witness and testify to my observations of the more crowded side of the pool not using logic in their judgements and being easily swayed by emotion campaigns, I rarely speak of a much more heinous act. that is of those with a broader perspective who insist on using that fact as justification to look down upon those who do not tread water along side of them.

while i consider it a crime to allow yourself to be taken by an obviously disingenuous plot to control your voice and then turn around and blame others, i consider it a greater crime to possess the knowledge and perspective to truly empathize, and decide rather to be judgemental, intolerant, and arrogant.

i know some of you are angry.

but winning the argument doesn't consist of logic alone. you have the power to reach out, the ability to do so affectively. but it takes true comprehension and empathy to do so, and to have those things you must force yourself into giving in. and you must realize that if you are trying to enlighten someone on the other side of the pool, the reason they resist is because critical thinking IS a burden, and they would be happier where they are at.

in danger of sounding judgmental myself, i have to say that most folks in the shallow end of the pool have barely any hope of empathizing with folks two lanes over let alone in a different natatorium. its an observation, not a critique. so its up to those who understand what i'm talking about to be the ones who play that role.

stop choosing sympathy over empathy, arrogance over wisdom, and intolerance over communion.

this is not my rant on empathy, that will come later. but this is my rant on how often i am disappointed in those who understand much deeper ideas, but use semantics, definitions, and discrete facts to feel superior. while i am progressively moving towards not knowing anything, they are busy hardening their opinions. they fog and distract the progress of those ideas. instead of understanding their own subjectivity, they convince themselves that they are truly objective, and by doing so justify their anger towards the masses, who quite honestly are depending on them.

every human on this planet has a responsibility. but sometimes i am more disappointed in those who should know better.

and yes. i am a hypocrite. there doesn't exist a person who is not at one level or another. understanding your own hypocrisy is one of the hardest things you can do. but it is one of the most important as well.