Earlier today, I was thinking, as I often do, brain scouring, I like to call it, and I came up with this specific thing to gripe about today that I felt was too long and complex for a gripe-y status update. I have been recently dealing with quite a few people who, had they not previously known me, would likely cast me off as a "left wing nut" and (though not all of them inspired me to this thought) I came up with this: We have been told all of our lives "to stand up for what we believe in" but has anyone ever told you to know what the hell you are even believing in?
By know, I mean, be able to verbally defend what it is you are even discussing in a cohesive way that conveys your message of what it is that you believe in, and why, with out the use of character assassination, with out demeaning the other person's or groups point of view.
Do we even know what it is that we believe in? Does anyone do their homework anymore before shouting slogans and slapping a bumper sticker on a car? I would say in most instances I have witnessed, no. I feel that these days we have a lot of people who are angry about something, and are banding together with whom ever else they find to be angry with (as in how the social sciences will reflect that, unlike physical science, negative attracts negative). And you have all of these people who were told to stand up for what they believe, and they believe in their heart that they are angry. Sure. But, do they know why the guy holding the sign next to him is angry, or do they assume their reasoning is just as sound, simply because they are both angry at the same thing (idea, cause, i dunno, black person?, white lady?, L-word?)
I have found that most people who claim to feel a certain way have no idea what they are talking about. They are angry. They sure as hell know why they dont like their opposing faction. They have absorbed a perception of "the other" that is somewhere between dastardly at the very least and Galactic empire at its worst. These "conversations" often diverge into internet pissing contests about who can better insult the other using references to the other's belief where at no point does anyone express any reason for why their ideology is better than "the other."
Dont stand up for what you believe in, until you know why you believe in it. That is all I am asking.