The politicization of everything over the last five years has brought with it a refusal to listen to the other side. People have abandoned friendships, relationships, and even family members over trivial political views and opinions on current events. The thought of starting new relationships with those you disagree with is simply unthinkable. This isn’t necessarily a new thing. In fact, throughout most of human history you could be killed or exiled for having beliefs contrary to those in power. But, without a doubt, the refusal to talk to “the other side” has become commonplace in America and it isn’t wise.
Talking to someone you know to be wrong is an obvious waste of time. But the problem is that you lack perfect judgement on what’s right and what’s wrong. Of course you do. If you could perfectly distinguish between correct ideas and incorrect ideas you would never make a mistake and your life would be perfect. Since that isn’t the case—and you know that you’ve been wrong in your life before—you are possibly wrong about things you believe now. Not possibly. But certainly wrong. It is simply arrogance and blindness that make you unwilling to admit it.
Other people are undoubtedly wrong about many things as well, but they might be right about a thing or two. In fact, they might be right about something you don’t know. They may hold a piece of information that would drastically improve your life, or at the very least would make you less wrong. And who wants to be wrong? Someone you disagree with may know where there are traps on a path. Are you so arrogant that you wouldn’t listen? You would rather fall into a hole, so long as you don’t have to speak with the pro-lifer, the socialist, or the Muslim? Is it impossible that they are right about something? Is it impossible that you are wrong?
Plenty of times in my life, people I thought to be ignorant taught me something useful.
Even if you aren’t wrong, talking to someone you disagree with can point out the weak spots of your argument. They may argue a point that causes you to realize you have no rebuttal. You haven’t truly thought it through. You haven’t assessed all sides of the idea. The person you disagree with may even point out a weak spot in you. Personal attacks are intended to hurt, but that doesn’t mean there is never any truth in them. If they hurt, they are probably at least partially true. An enemy who points out a flaw in you has actually done you a favor—he has shown you where you can improve.
If the opposition fails to teach you something new and fails point out weak spots in your argument, they can still teach you about themselves and about humanity as a whole or at least entertain you. People are incredibly interesting and if you find them boring you aren’t truly listening or you aren’t asking the right questions. When you talk to people who don’t think like you do, you are in the process of deciphering the mystery of man, and as Dostoyevsky wrote “This mystery must be deciphered, and if you sacrifice your entire life to it, then you have not wasted your time.”
Speak to those you disagree with and be kind when doing so. Really listen to what they have to say and don’t just try to win.
TheSisyphusBlog 