Posted: Sep 22, 2017 1:00 pm
Since The Trumpocalypse I have been practicing a new way to understand those who seem to have radical differences in their beliefs. I ask two questions:
what are they imagining
and
What are they afraid of
Often when we have strong opinions they are backed by some scenario that we imagine. Example. I am a bit of a gun nut. My head is filled with imagined home invasions and fortified by Hollywood. I am afraid of being caught up with my kids behind a thin wooden door with no way to defend them. Because these imaginings and fears are so often practiced in my mind, I have a deep emotionally active belief in gun ownership.
Someone else may imagine guys like me accidentally shooting their kids. Therein we have the basis of a hell of a fight between us.
Soto the topic. These parents are imagining something about what happens to their kid when he goes to school.It's combined with some fear of what their kids reaction will be. Aggravating the situation they have a whole closet full of Image/Fear memes stored with their religious beliefs. Now, I can sit and judge them and disparage them, or I can seek to understand them and hope to change them. Slowly.
One can easily see that hating and shaming those with radical differences in belief is only going to serve to reinforce those beliefs.
Fuck. There has to be a better way. I'm operating under another belief that attempts to shame certain more conservative believers resulted in a clown for president. I imagine pissed off and shamed conservatives pulling the lever for A Clown. I'm afraid that it will all repeat itself in three years unless we change something.
See where I'm going with this?
what are they imagining
and
What are they afraid of
Often when we have strong opinions they are backed by some scenario that we imagine. Example. I am a bit of a gun nut. My head is filled with imagined home invasions and fortified by Hollywood. I am afraid of being caught up with my kids behind a thin wooden door with no way to defend them. Because these imaginings and fears are so often practiced in my mind, I have a deep emotionally active belief in gun ownership.
Someone else may imagine guys like me accidentally shooting their kids. Therein we have the basis of a hell of a fight between us.
Soto the topic. These parents are imagining something about what happens to their kid when he goes to school.It's combined with some fear of what their kids reaction will be. Aggravating the situation they have a whole closet full of Image/Fear memes stored with their religious beliefs. Now, I can sit and judge them and disparage them, or I can seek to understand them and hope to change them. Slowly.
One can easily see that hating and shaming those with radical differences in belief is only going to serve to reinforce those beliefs.
Fuck. There has to be a better way. I'm operating under another belief that attempts to shame certain more conservative believers resulted in a clown for president. I imagine pissed off and shamed conservatives pulling the lever for A Clown. I'm afraid that it will all repeat itself in three years unless we change something.
See where I'm going with this?