You ever wonder what is going through the minds of the ones who post radical and asinine things on social media? I used to, yet I no longer really give it much energy.

Why should I care?

People will believe a lie far faster than they will ever believe a truth. This, unfortunately, is factual data. Our society yearns to make sense of things they cannot rationalize in their minds. Typical reaction to this is grasping onto something one might feel might be logical, which is usually illogical, and believing it. This is turn causes the current dissonance in our nation.  You have several extremes, but predominantly two in most cases, that subscribe to what they “feel” as truth.

How you feel is not always correct. Correct being what is good for all. We, however, are entitled to this right as humans. The right to think and feel freely. Unfortunately, this gets perverted and with all good things, comes extremism and fundamentalism.

Are we all created equal?

Well…

To even embark on this thought, we must look at the roots of much more.

Within the basis of the Declaration of Independence, this includes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Problem here is, this can differ from person to person, and most certainly always does. What I feel is opposite to millions of others, and vice versa. That is fact. Does it make me right in my ideology and feelings? No.

Does it make them right? No.

Is the Declaration of Independence correct?

Free Will

To define what is right in correlation to free will, this is where religion came into play. The intention was to define a baseline of what was right to a growing population. This is congruent in all aspects of any religion, yet I will base this on the Christian religion. Which is right up there with some of the most stringent religions on “How to Live Your Life”. The apostles and followers of Jesus and early authors of scripture saw this conundrum. People have free will. Unfortunately, this “free will” scared them. Free will was full of variables.  I want to think the authors of scripture had good intentions what they were inspired to write, my feelings are it fell into the wrong hands later as a form of control. Which is another issue we still have present day. Which, think about it, this figure you cannot see or hear unless you are “chosen”, is the master of your fate and destiny. As always, overall fear of the unknown is what triggered “followers”. Just a little more in-depth than social media followers!

Free will differs from person to person, and as previously discussed in my other articles, is heavily influenced by upbringing, environmental surroundings, and influence. This became apparent to early mankind and could probably be dated to the beginning of humankind. We are the same, but different. What seems to be inherently flawed with us as humans, we need others to validate our “free will”.

Free will has been apparent throughout history, which ultimately resulted in tribalism. Going way back, tribes were created out of the very basic necessity of our existence, which is survival. Humans banded together for food and resources. Now I could really dive deep into this subject but will just leave it at this. Basically, people need people. This is engrained in our DNA. We fast forward to now, the same happens with ideology. We as humans band together in “tribes” still for resources, but more for shared ideology than ever.

Getting to the point, when people are in their “tribe”, they feel stronger, more assured, and passionate about their membership to such tribe. Anything outside of the boundaries, elements, or ideology of such is considered false or an attack on their existence. No regards for its truth, facts, or logical basis, it is not “right” by their standards. This free will we speak of seems to have turned sour. Which it does, and always has.

Imagine a group of prehistoric humans who were hunter/gatherers and typically were nomadic. Meaning they did not stay in one spot. One day, they run across a group of strange looking humans, similar looking to themselves, but different. In fairy tales, this typically results in the two band of humans getting together and learning from each other and living harmoniously. That eventually happened to a point, but was not without fear, avoidance, and bloodshed for a good while. That is in fact how creatures react naturally. We still do this, to this very day.

When you subscribe to a social media channel, the typical persons first steps on that platform are to find like-minded members or follow interests/people/subjects of your liking. This is normal. This is the tribe you want to be a part of. This happens in elementary school, college, work, and more. We are destined to seek out our tribe.

I can sit down and talk with anyone about anything. That is my nature. If I feel someone is mis-guided about something, I listen. I listen to see where that thought comes from. Even to the point of trying to dissect how they have come to the conclusion of their ideology. Do I hate them? Absolutely not. I am not perfect or righteous and there is no one size fits all ideology. Period. The one thing that should be universal. Compromise.

When I find someone who does not think the same way I do, I cannot help but listening and researching what they tell me. I typically find no nuggets of logic, although sometimes I do. You never know. My basis on my ideology is vast and diverse. I will never dismiss something unless I have substantiated its validity. People are easily manipulated and groomed to a theory, ideology, and outlook. Lies spread faster than truth.

Mark Twain said it best, “It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled.” The kicker, it is a great quote, but there are no facts that Mark Twain penned this. In our day in age, this happens every second of everyday.

To use only one small thing as an example, as there are millions of other things, I posted a video of an ex-Marine on Twitter. It went viral. He was basically stating something needs to be done with gun reform. Nothing ever about taking away weapons all together. You can go see for yourself, but that sparked two extreme responses from two extreme poles.

Ban guns all together on one side.

They are trying to take away our guns on the other side.

Nothing in that message denoted any such message. It was simply about compromise.

I ask you as a fellow human, to listen, think, and react rationally. Your ideology is not absolute, consider thinking beyond the realm of your current reality. Trust me, there is more to this word than the minute mindset most are stuck in. Open your mind, you heart, and always consider compromise. Living in fear is not a way of life, but a way to extinction.

dK