No Man Is An Island (Bridge-Building)
In the most brutish form, we humans are like islands: a little pocket of consciousness. For our understanding of everything around us is based on our understanding.
However, human society is more than a collection of these little islands because man has learnt to build bridges to understand what others think and to assimilate this thinking into a greater whole.
The diversity of friends and acquaintances then helps to feed our knowledge and understanding of the world around. If we reject others because they have a different opinion, then we are unlikely to learn from them. We become insular and almost like the ostrich that buries its head in the sand.
As adults, we have a certain level of self-worth that causes us to think we know what we are doing. This pride is a two-edged sword, for self-doubt can force introspection that leads to an analysis of our weaknesses. Pride makes one think that one is right, even when one is fatally wrong.
When it comes to learning, we all start by reading and understanding what people say about the topic. We then analyze and superimpose our own experience to synthesize the construct in our mind. Many fail to analyze and synthesize, and so their knowledge is pedestrian, and very much dependent on their source for basic facts.
If we persist on choosing the wrong sources for our facts, we just end up being misguided. Just like the many suicide bombers who have been misguided by errant teachings.
To refuse to examine someone's argument against yours only makes you a bigot. For all you know, you might be the one who has erred. It is in analysis and synthesis that a greater whole can be constructed.
The wise American Indian proverb mentions that you should not judge someone unless you have worn his moccasins. To understand your opposition's position does not necessarily mean you have to agree with it, but that you give it a fair chance in analysis. The analysis itself may yield unexpected results.
The synthesis of a newer whole helps one to accommodate different views, and to respect each point of view. For bigotry and discrimination starts with the thought that your view is the right one, and anything to the contrary must be wrong and invalid. True enlightenment arises when one discovers that we may just be describing different parts of a greater reality.
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPhone.