Battle Less Enjoy Friendships More

People who don't agree with me live good lives, and deserve to.

A person can get by, live a good life, with flawed information.  This includes all of us, even when the mote in my neighbor’s eye is oblivious. 

In this era of intense partisanship, you might expect me to rail against all ignorance.  We have all developed a fine pitch to our voices.  

Great matters hinge on my ability to win one more aggression?   Instead, let me suggest that some “error” is a small price to pay for a little comfort.  If I am right in believing that all knowledge (beliefs, opinions, analyses, etc.) is failable, and should be recognized as such, then we will do little harm and perhaps some good, when we spend non-combat time with our old friends. 

I regard our differences as your fantasy, a bit off center with reality, and you hold some similar beliefs about me.  We might benefit from being a little harder on ourselves.  But with others?  I “know” that the world would be better and democracy affirmed if everyone I know could be “led to the light (which happens to be the left).” 

I’ve noticed, though, that many people who don’t see the world my way are happy and productive.  As a teacher I may have created excessive self-doubt for some of my students, as I smashed their way to “enlightenment.”  Generally, though, I still think it helped to challenge cultural prejudices masquerading as deep thought.  The “deprogramming” was well meant and beneficial to those who sought to develop a freer mind.  We really can’t work successfully together if we are looking at completely different maps. 

But, I’ll say it again.  Lay off manipulating everyone, all the time, to your version of true belief.  Allow for a bit of ignorance.  Happiness is just as much sitting by a lake at sunset and watching colors rippling in the water, as winning an argument—i.e. battling with “stupid.”