And One Person's Only

Uniqueness.  

It's a word that is so valued at a surface level in our culture, but that is a value I have found to so seldomly to have much truth to it.  Everyone is unique, everyone is special, every person is different, and their differences should be seen, heard, and treasured.  We use these and other over-arching themes in our culture so regularly that it can be quite easy to miss the fact that we don't mean any of it at all.

In reality, our culture doesn't value unique thought.  We are actually near militant in our relentless impulse to squash anything that isn't a part of the value structure we hold to.  We are so often reflexive in battering new expressions that we rally whole groups of people to crush them.  Whether it  is seen in a protest to ban a confederate flag from any public display, or the uproar of delight in a crowd of thousands of people when a presidential candidate gloats at the failures of one person who kneels during a national anthem of a football game in protest.  This is the natural reaction to any person that displays a new opinion, protest, or process.  We split society into two sides, those who wholeheartedly stand with that person, and those who crave to see their stance crushed like punter taking a blindside block from a linebacker the size of my bed.  

Uniqueness isn't often valued.  The only value of the newness in someone, is when others latch onto it, thus making it no longer unique.  I think this is a shame.  In a country that puts so much public emphasis on the importance of individual liberty and free speech, we rarely seem to really respect the liberties or speech of those that truly are individuals.  It's really quite tragic.  Abraham Lincoln, Mahatma Gandhi, and Jesus Christ did not march to the beat of any one else's drum.  Of course in the end, most were still beaten down by the pounding of the drums they didn't march with.  Have we evolved as a society since then, or are we still looks to tighten their skin across the head of a new snare or bass?  

This is the reason for a new blog for me, and the title.  I don't proclaim to hold thoughts or opinions that represent anyone but myself, in fact, I more often than not take pride in the fact that I rarely share many common opinions with anyone.  These thoughts are my own.  I hope they are not taken as the stance of all Christians, government employees, white people, balding people, pet owners, or any other people group I may belong to, because they don't.  They are just mine.  

My hope is that in reading my writings, that you will find yourself open to considering new perspectives on various topics.  That you'll take time to consider that maybe the pole you've raised your flag on may not be the sturdiest, and that sometimes, there is value in considering that you might be wrong on a stance you've taken.  I hope to open your eyes to the grey areas that the general public ignores, while hunting for black and white hardliners to side with; not considering that truth or progress may lie somewhere in the great chasm that we have ignorantly, or maybe even blissfully, allowed to grow such a deep gap in our society.   

To sum it up, I'll quote a radio host I greatly enjoy: "I'm not telling you how to think, I'm asking if you'd like to."  If you take time to consider a stance other than the default one your political party or religious beliefs (or lack thereof) of choice seems to lean with, you might find some truth outside of the standard.  I'm not going to tell you that you should stand where I do on every subject.  Being unique is lonely.  It's not usually fun, and with all honesty, leads to the majority of the relationship struggles and self confidence issues I have personally.  It is not generally a pleasure to stand alone, and a party of one is really only large enough to create a barrier to itself.  

With that great, long introduction out of the way (get used to them, I'm generally long-winded), I'd like to share a theme for a few posts I'm hoping to address in a few posts in the near future.  The last two weeks or so in the United States have been publicly tumultuous, beyond the normal.  There are some topics I feel need a unique perspective, because so often I find that it takes about five seconds for someone to pick a side, and the discussion from there tends to devolve in seeing who can share the best memes.  Racial tension, Charlotesville, North Korea, Trump, Trump, and more Trump.  These are enormous hot buttons right now, and hot button issues frequently find both sides sending nukes at common ground.  

I'll address some of these in future posts, in a series I'm calling "Divided and Conquered" because I believe we've reached a point on so many issues where we have so efficiently divided ourselves, that finding solutions together is impossible without a change in approach.  The concept of progress has been conquered already.  Before there can be any value in reading my take on any of these issues though, there are some thought process pitfalls I want to present, and ask you to leave at the doorstep while reading these.  Most people don't recognize they are doing these things, but I'm asking you to stop and consider if you are as you read, and consciously stop so you can actually consider the value in a point without some false assumptions blocking your willingness to hear.  

1. One side is right all the time.  

No one I know would admit to actually believing this.  Everyone knows and accepts that no one is perfect, and as such, no one is going to have a perfect track record in the actions they take.  That being said, I know a lot of people who I have never once seen or heard disagree with a politician they have attached themselves to.  President Trump is a great example here.  I know several people that did not support him in Republican primaries, who went and voted for Ted Cruz or someone running against him.  I also know a great number of those same people who I have seen and heard defend and agree with every action or stance he has taken since winning the primary into the present.  What changed?  Really, just his stature, not his stances.  If his stances were always right on everything, why in the world would you vote for someone else in the primary?  

Of course this happens all the time.  Many of these people I know also, without exception, defended the actions and choices of George W. Bush.  Of course Donald Trump and George W. Bush have radical differences in both approach and policy.  The one common link, is that they were the face of the party one sided with.  If your moral support and alignment changed that much over an eight year stretch, you either don't have much conviction, or you're allowing someone else to do some of your thinking for you.  

Democrats don't get off the hook here either.  I have also seen many who took the same approach, simultaneously, in always supporting and siding with the stances of both Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama.  It's worth noting that nine years ago, they were running against each other, and hammering each other on the differences in their approaches to moral and economic issues alike.  They can't both be right all the time, because they don't actually agree all the time.  

A prime example is this: how did you stand on the congressional appointment of the Supreme Court Justice this spring?  If you thought that both the Republican filibuster for nearly a year to eliminate the possibility of Obama making the appointment was the right and moral thing to do, and you also thought that the Republican controlled Senate "going nuclear" and forcing a vote immediately to disallow a Democrat filibuster on the same appointment was also the right thing to do, you have an instance of a blatant inconsistency.  Likewise a Democrat that thought both the use of a filibuster and the forced end of a filibuster were the wrong thing to do, you have an inconsistency.  You are at best leaning towards the thinking of "whatever my side is doing is right" or at worst, succumbing to a thought process of "might makes right."

A flip side to this point that is important is to note, is that the other side isn't wrong all the time either.

2. Exceptions are the Rules.

This is painfully common.  Every Trump supporter is a fascist or a skinhead, every Black Lives Matter rally wants to kill cops.  Yes, fascists and skinheads are much more likely to be Trump supporters, and yes, there have been horrible instances of BLM leading to senseless violence against innocent police officers.  In general, both of these groups are minorities.  Donald Trump got almost 62 million votes in the election last falls.  If there were that many skinheads and fascists walking about, we'd have an openly dictorial state, and legitimate political movements for abolishing civil rights.  Likewise if every BLM supporter was into murdering cops, we likely wouldn't have much of a police force left here.  Exceptions exist, they matter to the conversation, but they are not the standard.  Don't make them one, it will make your stance the wrong one.  

3. The results of mob mentality are the mentalities of the groups swept up in them.

This is hugely important in our current culture.  Protests and marches have become a huge trend, they happen all the time from people of all political thoughts and affiliations.  Large groups of people that are passionate about a singular thing are easily caught up in their passions.  Obviously, with the recent events in Charlottesville, this is huge to consider.  Mob, or herd, mentality is a real thing, if you're unfamiliar with the science or thought behind it, a great introduction can be found here.

The actions a mob takes while in the culmination of their enthusiasm should not be assumed as the default attitude of those in the mob, nor should the actions taken be assumed to be representative of the character of the individuals in it.  Not every person who wants to leave a monument for a confederate soldier up should be labelled as willing to murder a counter protester with a car.  Likewise, not every person that loathes white supremacy should be labelled as an enthusiast of throwing bottles of urine at people that disagree with them.  Mobs are ugly, they are people at their worst, they are good people and bad people at their worst, but that does not mean they are comprised of the worst of people.  

4. "You can't believe X, and also believe Y."

This is a mental deal breaker.  This spits in the face of unique thought.  This encourages division, if you say an individual can't support gay marriage and be pro-life.  Of course they can, and while it's true that generally people won't hold both of those stances, they aren't directly opposed to each other. 

The best example I can think of this would be something I heard a friend of mine say recently: "You can't be a Christian and also be pro-choice."  As it turns out, the word fetus isn't in the Bible, I'm not concordance checking this as I type, but I'm reasonably certain "abortion" isn't either.  Christianity is not determined on any one moral stance or political leanings, and while most would view Christians values as oppositional to pro-choice sentiment, a stance to the contrary can be based on scientific knowledge, a different interpretation of a few key verses, or simply being a less mature disciple of that faith.  There is a right and a wrong stance on this issue, but one could choose to be on the wrong side of it and it would not disallow them from being a follower of Christ.

It is not my intent here to start a conversation about abortion at all.  I don't really plan on addressing that issue in this series, but it's important to take away the lesson that someone can hold a belief that is uncommon to a group they belong to, and it doesn't mean they can't be part of that group.  I know some very strong believers that are pro-choice, and while many would argue against their stance, it's important to note that one can believe something to be true, whether it is or isn't, and it does not have to impact whether or not they choose to believe something that is either true or false on a different subject.  

These are all the points I have to make in this post.  I hope you will take some time to consider them and keep them in mind when reading the next few posts I make.