Zealotry presents an ugly face, regardless of which side of
the fence it comes from. Self-labeling makes it even more restrictive. If you
call yourself a liberal or conservative, Baptist or Shinto, you've already
limited your ability to be open to case by case independent thought. We allow
ourselves to step inside a box and say "This is who I am" rather than
do the heavy lifting of looking at an issue from all sides and sources, to make
the decision that we then believe to be the best. It's too easy to simply
follow whatever our club, political party or religion dictates.
“I'm comfortably settled into my Lazy Boy, got my Big Gulp
and my wide screen TV, don't make me actually think for myself.”
This abdication of independent thinking, (and personal
responsibility), is all too frequently the basis for blind conflict in
politics, religion, and most human interaction. We draw false courage and
justify our actions in mob mentality. It becomes an assumptive prejudice that
cuts both ways and hobbles every step we take, mistakenly believing them to be
going forward.
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