Please Disagree with Me

Here in the US it is election season, in fact the day I am writing this is Election Eve. Across the country people have been voting early in precincts that allow it and, due to the pandemic, millions of Americans have chosen absentee voting this year. I don’t know the actual numbers, but I know all the reports I have heard indicate that absentee and early voting are setting records. That is a great thing. Being engaged in the political process, when you have an opportunity to influence, even in a minor way, the direction of your community, state and nation please do so.

I’m not going to waste my words in this discourse to try to convince you to vote for one person or another or to choose one ideology over another. What I am going to ask you to do is be informed and involved in the process. If there is anything I can claim to be, it is consistent. I have stated for years that I despise two things when it comes to both politics and relationships; hypocrisy and ignorance.

Now let’s get something straight right now, before people get bent out of shape over my use of the word “ignorance”. Webster’s dictionary defines Ignorance as follows: a lack of knowledge, understanding, or education : the state of being ignorant. That is it, it is not a pejorative word. It does not impune your character or capabilities. It simply means you are missing something. You may be ignorant because you lacked opportunity to gain the needed insights and information. I’m not judging you. I will, however, look at you disparagingly and perhaps with disgust when you have had the opportunity to learn about a topic and CHOOSE not to pursue that education. Please do not try to explain something to me on a topic with which you are not well versed and show your ignorance. Instead, embrace it and ask for more information. Chose to learn .

There are many outlets to learn about the election and I hope many of you have availed yourself of those opportunities before now. I will say something here that may also be controversial; all of your information options are valuable. That’s right. I said ALL. Even if someone’s opinion is not aligned with yours, their views have value. At the very least, the exercise of comparing positions helps you solidify why you hold your own beliefs. You might learn something about beliefs you hold and may be enlightened to a bit of ignorance on your own part that you are unaware of. (Yeah, kind of by definition you would be unaware of it.)

This also may seem controversial, listen to everyone. Left wing, Right wing, Centrist, Independent, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, Communists and any other label they choose. Most of the time, if they have done their own homework, they believe in a thing for a reason. That reason is important to them and therefore it should be important to you. That’s right, if someone has a contrary opinion to yours, they are not only entitled to have it, you should be supportive of their opportunity to follow their beliefs with conviction.

That is a lot to unpack there. I know some of you are thinking, “Whoa! He is advocating for extremism in the name of a cause.” In a way I am. Because in this day and age it is extreme for someone to take a position and defend it with knowledge in a civil fashion. That is what I advocate, share your views and be willing to receive and appreciate the views of others. They may not be the same as yours, in fact I hope that many are not. If you are honest and open; You will find in the challenges of our beliefs you will gain respect for others and, if properly introspective, learn more about yourself. That is the meaning of life. Learn to understand your fellow human beings and yourself.

I urge you to commit to a less ignorant world by embracing those of opposing views and learn from them what they feel is worth supporting. Maybe, just maybe, through patience and understanding we’ll inject some civil discourse into this very unsettling time.