Probably should post a few pictures...

I feel a bit of the floodgates opening.  I haven’t written anything that anyone else will possibly read outside of a few emails for over two years.  What that’s effectively done is made me feel like I have to catch up suddenly.  I used to write many posts and include a picture or two.  I suppose I need to stick to that formula since I was actually having people read these posts.  I’m not 100 percent sure how to get people back here reading this blog, but I imagine that there will be some event that helps me to get back to that point.

What’s interesting is the fact that I too feel the need to say what’s on my mind and always have had a need for some outlet of that nature, but looking back at the years I have been doing this times have rapidly changed with regards to how people seem to operate.

Listening to media, reading news stories is fascinating to me and I’m not really interested in picking one side over the other.  I’m not above it or with it or against it or anything for whatever the current outrage happens to be.  China, Trump, celebrities who think they are smarter than they are, clever comedians who make fun of all, PC people, pro-life or pro-choice - pick one or all of them to discuss.  I am Switzerland on these topics.  Often I like to play the devils advocate when really hopped up people talk about these topics, but I do this less and less.  It’s not that I don’t care about any of it,  I just don’t care for the way that these topics are presented typically.

The all or none and us against them presentation is what really fascinates me.  If I’m listening to the radio or watching TV, there is not a single voice that seems to really look at anything with any sort of reason.  This dualistic reasoning fails to work on many topics and it is incredible dividing.  I’m really curious as to what lies behind this push.  My previous post was on balance and how delicate and really subjective it can be.  I come back to one of my favorite quotes of all time.  “There is nothing good or bad, but thinking makes it so”.  Shakespeare hit one out of the park with that.

It’s all about perspective.  Take all the trouble with Hong Kong and China.  Your physical location will dictate your thoughts about this trouble,  history is full of examples of oppression and the oppressed rising up against it.  It’s all perspective though on what makes it good or bad.  Just look at this country.  I wouldn’t be in America or call myself and American if it weren’t for a similar scenario that played out.  To all the British what those first Americans did was treason and absolutely awful.  Probably to a lot of Americans too who were loosing out on business with the British or because there was a war.

To be forced to pick a side and then belittle anyone who thinks otherwise is exactly what happens a thousand times a day on social media, the regular media and in whole counties.  The result of these cold shoulders or snubs or fights can vary with extreme results, but it is all the same.  The most effective way to silence opposition to is to eliminate the opposition, it’s sad but modern history is written by the winners because the losers just don’t exist to tell their side of it.

For some reason this happens on social media, one person blurts out an unpopular view.  A few people express outrage that such a thought even is spoken.  The person recants their statement, apologizes and that side wins.  It’s a mini form of war at least that how I see it.

What can we do to stop it?  That’s where this gets interesting,  I don’t profess to have the solution to end dualistic fights,  but it can start with compassion and empathy for the opposition.  If you try to deeply understand why a person might have such a strong conviction or what drives them to want to fight against the injustice of the day, you may be more likely to have a productive and rational discussion with them.  Realizing that right and wrong in a certain area is subjective based on how you see the same problem is a good start.

Start being responsible for your own actions and stop letting others control your level of happiness.