I walked into my favorite gym a couple of weeks ago, and the first person I saw was a good friend of mine who is a kind and gentle man, and whom I hadn't seen in quite awhile. He was talking to another man whom I had spoken to off and on and had in previous times made small talk about gym stuff. I walked up and hugged my friend, and then shook the hand of the man he was talking to. The man then said right after saying hello something that blew my mind, and threw me off guard.
"We were talking about Der Fuhrer" he said.
I thought it odd, but interesting so I responded.
"A conversation about Hitler huh?" I replied..
"No, Obama is Der Fuhrer" he replied.
"Huh" I said with my good friend standing next to me. I must have looked like someone told me aliens had landed.
"Yes, it's 1933 Germany again, and I'm worried. He is the new Fuhrer"..He said.
I was all of a sudden very annoyed, and asked, "So you are equating The President of The united States to a mass murdering dictator who exterminated 10 million people in his quest to start a world war, and take over the world with a master race?"
"Yes" This man stated.
I said, "Ya know what, I'm done..I didn't come here to talk about this, I came to work out."
And right then, I dismissed this man, and anything else that he had to say was irrelevant. He must have felt that from me, and walked away with myself and my friend who had been cornered by this guy before I got there, shaking our heads. Years ago, I would have gotten sucked into the bottomless pit of that exchange, but I have learned to pick important battles of enlightenment, and that was NOT one of them. Now before anyone of whatever political affiliation they are jumps all over me, I will explain that I really don't care who thinks what about whatever politician, and those conversations are worth having because the thought process of folks is worth investigating. But when someone makes a statement that is so idiotic, and off the charts irrational I have learned to whistle past their graveyard ignorant mind, and not even engage. Why? Because it's a complete waste of time.
We are a country of people full of different ideas about how the world works, and how it's supposed to work. That's fine, I get that. But there are people out there who are so underneath the radar of critical thinking, that their conclusions are almost comical, and how they have reached them are almost inconceivable. People such as this have a great tendency to open their mouths and say all kinds of things and watch what sticks to the wall. There is no depth of thinking, no rational lineage of reason for conclusions, and no original thought process. Just usually repeating what they have seen and heard without any understanding. Their mouths are moving but even they don't know what they are saying. While these encounters may be in person, and perplexing enough, the ones that are downright scary are on social media. It is one thing for someone to say something completely unnerving straight from the mind, to the mouth, but the fact that so many folks take the time to think something, then type it, and then post it, and somewhere in between those events, didn't see that it wasn't a good idea, is downright scary.
Before social media there really wasn't a way to see what people were thinking other than talk to them, or if strangers,catch the occasional talk show where someone put a microphone in front of their face. It seemed like no big deal because everyone knew that there are some wing nuts out there running around with ideas that aren't necessarily grounded, and honed. This was our thinking back then that there was no threat because there wasn't a great deal of people and their twisted ideas of thought spreading. That WAS the thinking. In this day and age of technology and cyber voyeur media and forums, we actually have a chance to see what has been the case all along. Why is this an issue? Because with the age of technology, those ideas can actually spread to easily led minds. I am speaking of not primarily speaking of issues of just politics, or such. But I am speaking of behavior patterns, acts of violence, nefarious trends, and just overall ignorance in general that can be latched onto, copied, and reproduced like spreading cancer.
I will get the argument that this is America, and that people can think what they want, and say whatever they want, and that is absolutely true.My argument is that it doesn't make it correct. It can actually be downright dangerous, but their right nonetheless. This is not someplace where people will be dragged from their homes and executed for thought like in certain countries, and this will never be that type of place regardless of idiotic statements. It then becomes my choice to dismiss them, and not engage them at all. Do I like dismissing people? No, not at all because I am a person who believes that everyone has a voice. But when that voice is so far gone from any sort of reality, it is a complete waste of my time to deal with them, and will present me with nothing but frustration. What they desire is to engage, because the people with the least amount of reality based thought tend to be the loudest of their opinions, as they try to convert others to their way of thinking. People who are based in reality often times don't have anything to say unless asked, because they have no need to present an idea that they have thought out from all angles. And once again the word "Empathy" comes into play because those based in reality realize that they are not the holders of all knowledge, and that there is always room to grow from the knowledge of others also based in reality, and what conditions they have endured that prompt them to think the way they do. People like the gentleman that I dismissed are part of the problem, because they create chaos. They have no desire to talk to people, and solve problems with others, but they have a complete mission to talk at people, and recruit others to their torch mob. Ignorance does not necessarily mean dumb. Some of those folks are very smart. Extremely smart for that matter. Ignorance is just not being aware. Period. Having a worldview that has horse blinders attached, and being proud of it.
If no one were to engage these folks, they have no argument to blast upon others, and their ignorance and self absorbed ideas of how the world works would eventually die with them. They love confrontation, and someone getting upset at what they say just fuels them enough to push their agenda even further to barren like minds not based in reality.Years ago, I would get pissed, confront them, and engage, and challenge their idiocy, but I am now over that aspect, and I just whistle past ignorance. The world is full of wonderful people who are filled with light, and love, and present ideas that are positive and present solutions to complex problems, because they have used their brains to think. Those are the people I like to surround myself with, and anyone who is not based in reality, and who has a barren mind of ignorance is subject to my dismissal of anything they say. Am I the holder of all knowledge? Absolutely not, but I do consider myself someone who will think before opening my mouth or typing something, and I have been taught and raised to not echo the thoughts of others but rather to have a 3 dimensional view of how people work, and how the world functions when people are involved.
Always know where the ignorance, and non reality based minds are not so that you can rehabilitate them, but so that you can let them suffer and wallow in their own ignorant stew. It is a waste of time, and effort to do anything otherwise, and your own world will be much better, and filled with much more quality. You may have to weed them out, but they are there, and causing chaos..When that happens, put your hands in your pockets, think of happiness, and whistle past the graveyard..
There are no ghosts in a critical thinking mind.
