How much should I bother trying to understand the other person’s point of view? My mind is wrestling with theology and aspects of the rapture and creation, but the question would apply to politics or economics or just about anything we disagree on.
Obviously, if we’re going to get along, there has to be some attempt to understand the other person. At least it’s obvious to me. It may not be to you. You may think you’re so correct that there is no need to look at the foolishness of others. They may feel the same about you.
I think, however, that sometimes just a general ballpark understanding is all we need. The reason I say that is that there is no way we’re going to understand everything.
Let me illustrate in theology since that’s one area that I feel the most informed. Take the return of Christ. Some people tie this to the rapture. I would fit in that camp. It seems pretty clear that certain things will happen when Jesus comes back. I accept the word rapture for that time when the trumpet shall sound, and we will be caught up in the air. Whether you agree with that or not is not the point here. The point is that there are other people who are just as devout as I am, who might even say there is no such thing as the rapture. I don’t know about the devout part because I don’t bother reading what they have to say or listening to their podcast. The point is they are as serious as I am.
Take that into politics and economics. Certain things are very clear to me. I don’t believe that we can continue spending more than we take it as a government without bankrupting the country. That seems pretty clear and obvious to me. Occasionally, I will read something by someone who says that actually a little bit of deficit spending in the long term is good for us, or at least doesn’t hurt us. I think they were living in a dreamworld, but they believe it sincerely.
We need to hold to our convictions and at the same time give other persons of goodwill the right to hold their convictions. Argue. Discuss. Disagree. But always in the back your mind keep that little seed that you might be the one that is wrong. Learn from the abrasions of life.
homo unius libri
Friday, December 6, 2024
Opus 2024-418: Limitations
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Comments are welcome. Feel free to agree or disagree but keep it clean, courteous and short. I heard some shorthand on a podcast: TLDR, Too long, didn't read.