Growing up in the southeastern United States, I was raised to believe a certain way and to accept many things as a given fact. My social and political belief systems were formulated within me from an early age. There were some challenging ideas along the way, but the majority of the ideas did not waver too far from the thought processes I was exposed to as an impressionable youngster. Alternative information and news outlets were not all that easy to come by. It wasn’t until the advent of the internet that a wealth of information and a broader assortment of news sources suddenly became accessible to the masses. One problem with all of this available information is having the tenacity to weed out the credible from the unreliable. Another problem (and I would say even more demanding) is forcing yourself to be open-minded enough to separate previously unknown facts from illogical fiction; especially when the facts happen to challenge lifelong and deeply personal belief systems. If you’re able to allow yourself to view the world with unshackled eyes, you will be unable to avoid seeing things differently.
There are an estimated 4,200 religions being practiced on our planet. Of the two most popular religions, one believes in eternal damnation without the acceptance of a savior and the other believes in eternal damnation due to the acceptance of this very same savior. Within these same two religions are also many varying subsects and beliefs. Where someone happens to be born in the world largely determines their religious beliefs and other belief systems, and, so far as we can tell in this life, none of us were given a choice as to the location of our birth, beforehand. We typically share the beliefs of our parents and elders as it is what they felt obligated to teach us.
Outside of most religions, there is one belief about creation that is based on a scientific theory, and yet others believe that, at the very least, there must be some sort of mighty and celestial creator. There are also many other beliefs which vary from – all of this world being some sort of an elaborate, but conscious dream-state – to it all being some sort of artificial simulation developed by beings of higher-intelligence.
There are five political systems that are the most common around the world: Democracy, Republic, Monarchy, Communism and Dictatorship. Even among these political systems there are varying subsects and ideals, and the political system of an area typically has a major effect on its own economy. As with religion, where one happens to be born in the world determines which type of authoritative control and economy they will be subjected to. The authority under which one is exposed further influences and modifies how and what they believe and practice within their own lives.
Combined, religion, politics and type of economy create political and religious beliefs that lead to vastly diverging social (or human) systems and philosophies around the world comprising of multiple different norms and standards; most of which claim, indisputably, to be “right.” There are many other factors that play into the beliefs and attitudes of people. Everything from their environment, to personality, to psychological issues, to abuse, to addiction, to biological factors – far more than I could possibly address in this writing. Point being, there are wide-ranging types and classes of people throughout the world who differ greatly in what they happen to believe; sometimes, even within their own subsect. This has created many devastating issues throughout history. Vast numbers of people have been slaughtered simply over differences in their beliefs. People tend to feel so sure that their way of believing is the right way of believing that it leaves little, if any, room for debate or compromise. Facts and evidence usually mean very little when an unwavering belief is at the foundation of an argument; anger escalates, merely causing one’s belief to solidify even more, whether valid or not.
To truly have a strong belief in something, is to hold a vulnerable part within us so dear that we feel it needs to be protected at any cost. Ask a true believer from any of the 4,200 various religions how they know what they believe to be true and you’ll get very similar answers: “I just know,” or, “I feel it,” or, “It says so in (insert religious writing(s) here),” or if the religion is deity centric, “Because God told me.”
Now, please don’t misunderstand, I’m not trying to credit or discredit anyone’s personal beliefs; each of us must determine what we choose to believe on our own. I’m simply attempting to point out how similar we all are, even when it comes to our differences. So, what if, by not closing ourselves off and automatically dismissing the beliefs and practices of others, we could instead open ourselves up to gaining a better understanding of human nature and maybe even discover more as to why we happen to be the way we are? We tend to focus so much on our differences that we fail to see our similarities. We sacrifice unity on the altar of division. So many people live with an all-or-nothing point of view when it comes to their beliefs, as if there are only two possible choices for anything and everything; their way or the wrong way.
Striving to find the common ground is becoming a lost art, and, typically, it is viewed as being weak. Instead, we’ve become more controlling of others and overly sensitive – eagerly demanding that others bend to our predilection under our own self-righteous activism, and yet, declare epithets of hate and spread accusations of intolerance when it happens to be the other way around. It makes very little sense, really, when these divergences are based, mostly, on dissimilar, but deeply-held and personal, religious, political and social beliefs.
Life is hard enough without all of the various beliefs and we all have to find our own path. So, when your path crosses someone else’s, instead of arguing over who believes they are on the better path, take some time to learn a bit more about one another and the path each of you are on. Maybe you won’t find a better path, but maybe you will. Either way, you’ll at least have a better understanding and possibly have made a new friend along the way, which is always better than making a new enemy.
At least, that’s my opinion.
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