There's a lot of people who think they're right. I think I'm right when I'm not sometimes, and so we need to check ourselves.
In a perfect world...
These days we leave a lot of things to go unchecked and as a result our society is dragged down by those who're gullible enough to live a facade rather than live in the moment.
In a perfect world, people would check themselves and each other. You wouldn't need laws, lawyers, or overseers (woops, I meant to say officers). We wouldn't regret all those moments when we've acted like a fuckwit, because well, we wouldn't act like fuckwits; we'd know better.
It's okay to critique others, it seems to be all we do now days anyway, but what happens when it's you being critiqued? You get defensive.
Naturally, like a Mantis, we take up a defensive stance against personal critique. Being questioned is never fun and so we avoid it, either by ignoring it or by escalating the situation to a point of no return. We've all been there. Anyone who has ever interacted with another human being has been there.
Check yourself
In the last few years I've spent a lot of time checking myself to make sure I'm not talking shit when I speak. I've learned to know when I'm wrong from when I am right. The easiest way to tell is when you have no idea what the hell someone else is talking about. If that happens, ask a question and learn, or go away and come back when you've caught up.
Self critiquing yourself before someone else has to step in and do it for you will save you a lot of drama in the future. When you don't check yourself you become one of those guys that no one likes; an ignorant douche. Don't make society even more gullible than it already is by being an ignorant douche.
Don't wreck yourself
When you don't keep yourself in check, you wreck yourself. You start to fall down an infinite stair case, each step containing a part of yourself. You start to lose the real you and you become more and more of a gullible twat. Your friends start to take you less seriously, you reputation becomes disputed and your very existence becomes an empty shell that you've created from your own ignorance. If you're already at that point, it's never too late to change.
I myself am writing this as a personal reminder. I don't want to fall back down the stair case again. I've spent a lot of time trying to relearn all the things I ignored in my past. It's an arduous task but worth every win.
I've learned to like being wrong. It's a blessing to learn something new and when you can teach it to yourself you leave yourself with a feeling of fulfillment through self achievement. If someone can help you, then even better, that speeds up the process.
Check others
Once you learn to check yourself (assuming you don't already) then you can check others. This is something we as a society fail to do for a number of reasons.
We tend to avoid conflict because most of us have learned that the only way to settle an argument is by escalation; which is just silly. It's very easy to have a conversation with someone, even when they're escalated. I've been a youth worker in a detention center and my job deals with conflict resolution. The amount of times I've deescalated a young person with simple conversation and understanding is innumerable; I've lost count. I use the same technique when when I'm out about.
That's not to say that everyone will listen however. As I said, most people don't like to be critiqued as they feel attacked and naturally go on the defensive. When this happens, it's best just to walk away and let them figure things out for themselves. Those that don't continue to rot inside their own sea of despair and loneliness; a never ending staircase to a self inflicted hell. Sorry if that image disturbs you, but it's honestly what happens when you leave yourself unchecked. You become that disease within a community that no one wants to affiliate themselves with out of fear they might contract the same negativity.
Conclusion
If you want this world to work the way you'd like it too, then you have to become the change you wish to see. You have to be so on point that your very existence is a fuck you to those that wish to hold us back. You must become a light that guides others, not a darkness that leaves them cold and empty. They say one man can't change the world but that's not true. I can think of thousands of pioneers who have literally changed the world with their minds, all by themselves. Inventors, philosophers, physicists, astronomers, you name it, they've helped shaped this world by becoming true to what they do. You should too.
Pride comes before the fall as they say. The single greatest intellectual, moral, philosophical step one can take on the path to enlightenment is to fucking pull your head out of your own arse and recognise when you're wrong. Haha yes that's it - suffer the ego death, you're doing us all a favour. :)
Nice to see you on here @davo112358.
Indeed. The ego-complex is somewhat of an omnipotent spiral to self-destruction. It's hard not to succumb to such with all the negative influences that surround our lives. People who grow around negative people have it the worse. The best we can do is help each other see the light and be rational when it comes to understanding.
Yoda meme put this post over the top!
great quotes and totally agree, all too willing to point out flaws in others but sensitive to acknowledging our own. great post!
Thanks. I feel like it's one of the main things missing in today's critical thinkers. They're quick to assess the actions of others but forget to check themselves in the process.
I'm glad you enjoyed my brain fart for the day :)
Nothing is right and nothing is wrong. Like how idea goes, there are no stupid ideas its just that its inappropriate.
Whats bad to other people could be right in our views, its because we dont have the same vuews in life, we are unique from each other.
2+2=5 ?
How would you apply that formula on this article. If @senseiteekay posted about math, then that would be useful.
It's under the tag philosophy
Usually for philosophy classes you required a background in geometry
Legend goes that Sokrates made that a rule for his school ( or something like that )
The whole concept of philosophy is based on the idea that there is only one wisdom.
philosophy is of greek origin and the plural means 'stupid, irrelevant'.
If you believe in more than one wisdom/truth then it's not philosophy.
TL;DR: Can't argue with someone who thinks 2+2=5.
Then your knowledge is way advanced compared to mine :)
Yes and no.
We should continue to evaluate the morality of ideas and how they affect others.
Yes you are right, every ideas has to be evaluated prior to its implementation to avoid misapplication.
good advice and a good read, too!