I'm Right. You're Wrong

Underneath all the rhetoric of the last few years, is this fundamental message that “I’m right. You’re wrong.” And it doesn’t stop in the political arena. You can see this on so many issues, from religious perspectives, stances on abortion and silly things such as wether or not we should wear masks in public. The interesting aspect of this mindset is that it creates such a polarization of groups of people, that is virtually impossible to have healthy and productive dialogue. To me, this not only paralyzes the opportunity for understanding and compassion, it creates a toxic environment where anger, arrogance and closed-minded thrive. 

“I’m right. You’re wrong,” sounds so elementary that you would think I’m talking about children. Yet, the sad reality is, this mindset effects adults - educated, mature and accomplished adults. People who accomplished great feats in life and business. People who are ultra-committed to their religious beliefs. People who have raised children, buried children and some that are now caring for their children’s children. It is truly baffling to me, that in our day and age, we are still dealing with this dangerous way of thinking. 

Funny thing is, this mindset camouflages itself so well in good-intention of moral fortitude, yet it leads to anger, hatred and prejudice. The outcomes of being 100%, unequivocally “right,” does not better your life, the life of those around you or humanity as a whole. Science, history and sociology have taught us this. We have countless stories, written in human history that propagate this ideology and we can see that it has lead to some the greatest atrocities known to our planet. 

Hear me on this. This is not subject to one particular group. It has not favorites, no political preference and no choice on religion. It thrives in all cultures, all belief systems and all and any group that deems they are right, and you are wrong. Don’t be so quick to start demonizing the “other side” of whatever issue you hold dear. Your’e guilty of this. I am guilty of this. No one is excluded from the temptation to exalt our “rightness” and the others “wrongness.” It’s sly and disguised as good intention, strong convictions and truth worth defending. It’s very easy to fall into a mindset that begins to glorify a particular view or group and dehumanized the opposing side. 

This hit me hard this year. Watching the political unrest, the violence and hatred coming out of the far-right, the far-left, the pro-choice group, the pro-life group, the mask-lovers, the mask-haters… and so on. You know exactly what I’m tailing bout. You’ve either seen it firsthand or you’ve participated in one extreme thought system or another. It’s just human nature to be right. 

So, where do we go from here? I am a huge proponent of healthy discourse and dialogue. I’m kind of obsessed with YouTube channels that do this well. The ones where two opposing sides, come together to discuss the differences in opinion and respectfully listen, provide feedback and state why they think differently. To me, this is one of the best ways to unify the polarized conversations and stop talking so much that we can’t hear one another any longer. Everyone has something we can learn from… everyone. Casting down the strong prison of pride, arrogance and aggression is the better way. It’s the road less chosen and it’s the way to effectively dismantle the highly-charged conversations that have split our country, our homes and our own hearts. 

Read more at www.joeytalks.com