I was supposed to fill in a box with text about myself.
In it I put, the most important lesson, I have had to date.
Its the one that gives me more perspective and less enemies.
We, as people, see the world as we want it to be.
We rarely see it as it is.
If we want to be effective agents of change,
to make the world as we want it to be.
We must first, be able to perceive the world around us, as it really is.
Rarely does this clarity of vision happen simply from desire, or loose intention.
Perspective is defined by experience, Most lives are lived within a specific defined social pathway.
We see intersect others on different pathways and through social prejudgement stay safely in our bubble.
Remember no one is evil, and when you find one you judge, try to understand what is human and alive and in them.
Once you find that humanity in them, you can begin to understand them, and maybe even raise there awareness.
I was by fate, placed in the shoes of the ones I had judged enemy. I had to ask myself how did I get here, was I wrong?
I discovered that many of the judgements I had: Judgements of who the enemies were, of what is wrong, These Judgements were taken at faith value, they were the product of peer pressure and social conditioning. Because these were values not associated with the dominant conventional culture, they were more often defined against conventional culture, I had never applied my protective critical analytical tools on them. In lefty culture there is allot of time spent defining the enemy. To be precise, the word enemy is never really used, that would be stooping to their level.
Be careful who you hate, and define negatively. They might just be natural human beings you don't understand. The more enemies you define, the less friend you have. The less friends you have the less mutually beneficial solutions you will find.
The social justice perspective I identified with growing up with, identified the person I would become as an enemy.
One day I discovered I was that enemy, and I was forced to reconcile two worlds. I was the dissident and the landlord.
I didn't really reconcile so much, as learned what was human in that "other", that enemy.
There was allot of reason and real human experience that was happening in the enemy camp.
The solutions are simple when you identify an enemy: You act against that enemy.
When that enemy becomes a human being deserving human respect, the "solutions" become more complex to find.
But when you find them, because they understand the truths of the problem they will be real solutions.
I don't actually think the person I was and the person I have become are substantially different.
I think, socially, I had learned to identify them as different. Having experienced both roles I can see experiences/stories from both sides.
To visually identify depth you need two different perspectives. Two eyeballs. To see the world, more as it is, you need diverse experiences.
I am very skeptical when enemies are being generally defined. I do still have "enemies", but they are specifically described by their actions.
I perceive my observation, analysis and judgement to by more accurate then most perspectives I have met.
And in many ways I feel genius. Conceptually.
But mostly I am a fool: regularly Mis-communicating myself, alienating, and feeling alienated from, many of the people I know and work with.
I end most days alone, with a perspective different from everyone else.
