A friend and I were talking the other day and our friendship almost ended simply because I believe in the ability for two rational free thinking individuals to disagree. My friend was of the opinion that you choose your friends based on compatibility. I thought this was strange and pointed out that I am an atheist and he is a christian. He then said that didn't matter. We ironically agreed to disagree and still get along, but the following is what I presented to him.
Discussing ideas is a lot like making rope. Rope is made of chords of fibers. Each fiber is twisted together one overlaying another one's length to create the chords. These chords are then twisted in opposite directions and the friction of those opposing forces is precisely what holds it together. I believe society is the rope from which we all hang and our various views are the chords whose opposing friction holds us all together. That friction is based on the respect for others to view the same life we view differently. That's all there is to it.
The idea of coexistence & tolerance of various viewpoints is absolutely nothing new. It's been preached since the origin of philosophical inquiry. The moment we began to view our life and interpret it we have found that others have different interpretations. The problem is that we also have a need to be right. We want others to believe the way we do because it further validates our ideas, lending us to the idea that we are right.
Independent lifestyle is the ability to live beyond that simple need for validation. To live independently means that you have come to a to a view of life and you aren't afraid to share it, even if you are what society would deem as odd (dude, just check out Eraserhead - In heaven everything's alright...).
Validation is overrated. People are typically fickle, so you're soon to fall out of favor unless you're one of the rare geniuses that can keep the masses captivated. Your other choice is to take some journey of the self and find out exactly what and who you are and speak for it. Fuck that even, just speak for what you are for the moment, it's a sure thing that you're not the only one going through that, and even if you are for the moment, there's guaranteed to be another person who goes through the same thing sometime in the future.
You see, each of our voices is one single fiber that makes up the chord that is the rope we're all hanging on. Without each of our voices, that chord wouldn't be strong, and the rope would be easier to break. If you join in society by casting out your own voice, it will align itself with some thought that's already out there. Like it was written thousands of years ago - nothing is original. That's not to say your voice isn't important. Remember, you're unique - just like everyone else. There will never be another like you. Nobody was born at the same time as you in the same place as you with the same family as you which absolutely assures that you have a completely unique view of life, even if it is completely similar to another, you voicing it not only validates that view that was already there, there's a guarantee you'll interpret it differently. That's not to say that it will be a new idea, but it will reach a new crowd. A song may stir withing a painter an emotion that helps define his work that in turn raises an emotion in a director that he begins to have his actors bring to film. That film may then help to shape the life of a young dictator who goes on to annihilate a complete race which causes an activist to go to a protest where he meets a girl and falls in love and they produce a child who goes on to be a dancing prodigy whose interpretive dance helps a young adolescent find the courage to become the first transgendered president... the fact is without those changes in media, the idea would never have moved the way it did. Who gives a flying fuck if it's been done before or been said before. There's a guarantee it's never been done by you, yet.
The respect for other ideas allows every idea to be shown. It doesn't stifle ideas that though they may be bad, they help another movement. For instance, in the example I mentioned, genocide is a pretty bad thing, but it helped move gender bias forward! lol, I've been drinking, but the fact remains, we should tolerate and respect each other and not fear living independently.
No comments:
Post a Comment