Mora: On opinions and what not

“What do you despise? By this are you truly known.” says Frank Herbert

AND so it is on print, television and social media. Bashing personalities offering views contrary to ours. Legions of color-coded opinions, bloggers flogging mainstream media personalities and sharing of “fake news” to suit one’s own political affiliation. That he said so becomes gospel truth. Truth built on unsubstantiated facts. That we differ on many if not all on various social issues is of no import. It is an expected part and parcel of human diversity. And such diversity keeps our world alive. We were not created to be zombies and it is strange that some act, talk and speak like one.

Fact is, I do find it healthy and worth examining opposite views as a test of the validity of my own. With or without a Constitutional guarantee, we are built with a brain much capable of thought, a heart which beyond logic ferrets between what is wrong or right and the senses to validate and express our individual and collective yearnings.

It is therefore strange that many prefer to simply accept and obey without thinking, and even dictate on others to do so. Recall the class truant. They are made to shut up and face the wall. Such is the punishment for one who breaks the rule. But sadly, we are expected simply shut ourselves off from the exercise of our ideas and thoughts. The new norm is not to think and stop expressing our own opinions. Follow the leader like the doomed rats of the pied piper. These are lessons of old. The tragic sycophants of the emperor who wore no clothes. And how can one have effective leadership when one’s nakedness is kept from you, by the very persons who is supposed to protect you.

I used to think that the measure of one’s power is the ability to exact blind obedience on others. But not anymore. Anyone who is intolerant of another person’s ideas reflects his own weakness. Such persons are best employed as animal trainers or in an animal circus. On the other hand, I listen to those who profess their thoughts culled from varying life experiences for me to reflect and to learn from.

We are all born to seek our own unique place in this world. Our purpose as many management gurus have written much about. Not a statue in the middle of the plaza for dogs to pee on, but how to make a difference in the lives of those one is led to, after much discernment and countless searching. And such decision can only be arrived at when all the Information needed is available, discussed, counseled and validated. As a grandfather, my most usual response to the question of my granddaughter is “what do you think?” Having been raised in a “do-this and do-that” family had its consequence on the growth.

So clear our thought process of fear of rejection or being ignored. After all, our brain simply absorbs all that we feel, see, hear, smell and taste. Express oneself short of what is criminal or banal. Then one is able to uplift the consciousness of man. Make a difference, for thinking is now a luxury afforded only by those who choose the heart and mind over a growling stomach.

However, it is also said that we become what we hate. Such is the power of one’s thoughts. Negative energy can consume us, much like a forest fire during a windy summer day. So we focus on what we want instead. We love and foster free expression. We avoid shooting the messenger and focus on the idea. For there are times when the dumbest ones become springboard to brilliance. And that is how the world as we know now is round and not flat

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