One of the hardest things for me to do is to listen to someone who has ideas or beliefs that are counter to mine. It took a lot of hard effort to loosen up my mind so that I could hear another’s point of view. I overcame this by forcing myself to read articles written by people I disagree with to learn from them. Why do they think the way they do? What benefit does their thinking afford them?
When you read articles like these, some of them will absolutely piss you off. But there’s a silver lining. You can also learn something. Perhaps they will expose a weakness in your logic or arguments. Perhaps they will demonstrate why they believe what they do and why it is important to them. There is so much to learn from others who have a different point of view.
A disadvantage of not listening or reading another person’s point of view, particularly if they do not agree with you, is you are not stretched. Anyone can listen to people they agree with. There is no mental work. It is nothing more than a self-gratifying exercise. Listen to someone you disagree with, and you will stretch. You’ll learn something. You still may not agree with what is said, but you’ll understand why they believe what they do. It is an excellent exercise.
Tolerate others and they’ll likely tolerate you. I think this is a really important thing to consider today in our “cancel” culture, where people are literally wanting to shut other people up who don’t fall in line with their thinking. For this to work, both people engaged must listen to one another and evaluate where the other person is. Conversation is the only way to achieve this.
Have a great Saturday, folks!
Until next time…
Dave
