29 jul Addicted to feeling offended,

We live in a democracy and a free society where we have to deal with views and people we don’t necessarily like. And unfortunately, one of the side effects of the Internet and social media, is that it’s become easier than ever to push responsibility onto others. “Right now, anyone who is offended about anything whether it’s the fact that Christmas trees were banned at the local mall or that the taxes were raised a half percent, can post it online or find a way to deserve to be outraged and to have a certain amount of attention”, Mark writes.

ONLINE victimhood chic’,

According to Mark we don’t consciously acknowledge that being self-righteous and morally superior is like a pleasure to us. He claims that it makes us feel good, somehow it gives us a temporary high. And I bet that sometimes we aren’t even aware of this habit. We do have a choice in life though .. Take responsibility, as in: deal with the situation, or pass off the responsibility to others through blame.

The current media environment both encourages and perpetuates these reactions because, after all, it’s good for business. Rather than report on real stories and real issues, the media finds it much easier (and more profitable) to find something mildly offensive, broadcast it to a wide audience, generate outrage, and then broadcast that outrage back across the population in a way that outrages yet another part of the population. This triggers a kind of echo of bullshit pinging back and forth between two imaginary sides.

We do know that it is bullshit, right?

I think we might conclude that the previous scenario lacks empathizing. No questions, just outrage, without meeting each other halfway. Is it because they don’t have to? It’s not that they are standing in front of each other though. It’s just a battle they’re trying to win, behind the screens of their phones, tablets or laptops. They probably don’t even know each other. Anonymous convo’s!

Be certainly right about things or die trying,

I think that we should pick our battles carefully, while simultaneously attempting to empathize a bit with the so-called enemy. Disney tried to deliver a message in the early days and back then I was just a little girl, mesmerized by Pocahontas elegancy. But there truly was a hidden message, “You think the only people who are people, are the people who look and think like you. But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you’ll learn things you never knew .. You never knew”.

Should we prioritize values of being honest, fostering transparency and welcoming doubt over the values of being right, feeling good and getting revenge. Can we make them democratic values again?

‘Cause in life, in every step of the way .. The bottom line is: You are wrong about things. About yourself, about how you see others, about how you see society, culture, the world, the universe. We all have flaws, we all make mistakes and most off all we all make wrong assumptions. In a conversation between two people there is NO reality, NO right or wrong, because every person has his or her own reality based on his or her values, opinions or ideas. And with knowing this, accepting this as a fact, could we turn it into a mindset that will improve our life and encourage us to see things in a wider perspective?

.. Being wrong opens us up to the possibility of change.    

Bron: The subtle art of not giving a fuck – Mark Manson