Lots of things seem disgusting, until you’ve changed a messy diaper.
That experience is bound to make the top ten of your ickiness list. Our perceptions are constantly changing as we have new experiences and learn new things. And that’s good. The world is always in flux and our ability to adapt to it depends upon our openness to new information.
Things that were important to me years ago no longer seem to matter:
- Keeping up with fashion;
- Having the latest gadget;
- Trying to be perfect;
- Needing to always win.
That last item has been the most eye opening thing that I have learned as I’ve gotten older.
An argument is never worth the trouble.
We can have disagreements where we exchange ideas, but once a discussion escalates to an argument, it becomes a pointless exercise. Raised voices, name calling, and dismissive comments – the core features of most arguments – will invariably lead to less understanding, not more.
We’ve all had them, and they never end well.
Challenge me on an intellectual level and I will respond in kind, because that is the essence of a true debate. When presented with a cogent alternate point of view, I have, at times, modified my opinion. But if you try to engage me in an argument, you will be ignored. People do not like that. They feel compelled to prove their point. I’ve been there, so I’m familiar with the impulse.
Not my problem.
I’ve chosen to blog about politics, religion, and diversity. These are subjects where people are more likely to keep their opinions to themselves, as opposed say, a discussion about celebrities. These subjects often involve overlapping strongly held beliefs that are virtually unalterable. When those beliefs are challenged, the responses are reflexively, rather than deliberative.
To learn is to grow.
Many believe that they have already learned all that there is to know. I’ve chosen to continue to keep an open mind rather than enclose it in an impenetrable cocoon of ignorance. I cannot possibly know everything, so to pretend that I do would be folly.
As a young person, words like fag, gay, and homo would roll off of my tongue as naturally as any other. It wasn’t until a friend came out to me that I realized how hurtful my words had been. I still feel bad about that.
I wasn’t immune to allowing stereotypes of race, gender, and religion to influence my world view either. I’m still not. The difference now is that I challenge those notions rather than adopt them as if they were articles of faith.
When challenged, stereotypes lose their power.
I suppose that that’s why the underlying theme of many of my posts is social justice. People face all sorts of challenges that many of us are blind to, simply because their issues don’t affect us.
People need to know that they are not alone with their struggles against oppression.
My voice, by itself, will probably change nothing, but together with the voices of many others, change can happen.
We don’t have to argue. We can talk instead.
Just look at how far we have come as a society. Ideas have been challenged and people and laws have changed.
Change often comes very slowly and at great costs, but we can be sure that no major change has ever occurred until people have gotten into the game and taken a stand.
The sidelines are for mascots.
Author Bio:
Ray Colon has written 136 posts on Ray's Blog.
He works with numbers for a living, but don't judge - boring accountants need love too. His blog has no niche (unless writing about things that are important to him is a niche). Some folks cringe when he gets “all political” on them, but he does it anyway when he's in that kind of mood. Sometimes, he writes something nice about someone, but you shouldn't get used to that. His first book, the one he hasn't written yet, is not available on Amazon. Subscribe to Ray's Blog via RSS or Email.
