The Code of Conduct is simple: Be humble, be respectful, be considerate. We are not enemies, even if we disagree on a particular point.
For a long explanation, see below.
Give me the varying shapes, sizes, colors, smells, and textures of a field of wildflowers instead. Just as in nature, diversity in the human ecosystem improves its health.
~ Pria Paige
Photo by Skyler Ewing from Pexels
If you are on this blog, then you are a seeker. In my opinion, that puts you on the fringe of the herd. This blog is a place for me to share my thoughts about a variety of topics and to create discussion that will hopefully help me and others to clarify our understanding.
I recently closed a Facebook account that I had held for almost two decades. Facebook allowed me to connect with many people there whom I likely would have never connected with and may struggle to stay in touch with now.
So why did I leave? I found communication through that platform had become twisted and corrupted. In fact, I found almost everyone, even lifelong friends and family members, to be so emotionally charged and invested in identity politics that they couldn’t even understand what I was saying.
Instead of allowing an open exchange of ideas with thought-provoking statements and sources, social media became an echo chamber where dissident voices were belittled, insulted, attacked, censored, and ultimately blocked or removed. I found the censorship and attempts to bully me into adopting mainstream viewpoints to be stifling. I believe the right to free speech is an essential aspect of being human that cannot be granted or removed by outside agents. We may choose to suppress our speech in order to protect ourselves from social or political damage, but the right is innate and cannot be taken. In addition, I reject the idea that other unknown persons are more qualified to dictate to me what to think, how to speak, and what is true. I have never met a single human being who has a full grasp on “the truth”. Truth exists somewhere between and inside all of us, so I think it’s crucial to allow people to muddle through different perspectives.
Photo by Lukáš Dlutko from Pexels
Everyone has opinions that are more or less informed by both the breadth of their personal experiences and the depth of the exposure to valid sources. Those opinions are constructed on necessary assumptions that allow us to function in our daily lives. If we didn’t make those assumptions, we would constantly need to evaluate every experience every moment every day. That would be inefficient to the point of crippling us. Assumptions are necessary, but they can either be a foundation or a prison. I believe we must periodically reassess whether those assumptions are still valid in an ever-changing world. Many of the assumptions we make are erroneous, outdated, or adopted from others who have their own agendas which we may know nothing about!
I celebrate the power and fragility of being human. We are all fallible. I do not expect perfection in you or myself. Instead, I invite you to challenge your understanding and critically evaluate your assumptions, as I try to do daily in this bold new world.
Please be considerate and err on the side of respect when posting comments. You are as entitled to your opinions and viewpoints as me or anyone else on this planet. We don’t have to agree. A homogeneous field may be striking and provide a sense of calm, but it quickly loses its ability to nourish the soul and its inherent weaknesses are eventually exposed. Give me the varying shapes, sizes, colors, smells, and textures of a field of wildflowers instead. Just as in nature, diversity in the human ecosystem improves its health.
