I have returned from my summer away, during which I had little access to news. It wasn't such bad thing, but now I must spend a little time catching up on world events. I should be active again very soon.
In the meantime, let me speak a bit to what's been on my mind. Perception is reality. Egocasting. In our little blog world, we are perceived pretty much as we desire to be, but what about in our real lives. How do people perceive me? Based on the frequency with which I am shocked by what is said to me, quite differently than I think I am.
Would I be able to handle the answer to this question? What if we all stopped telling the itty bitty white lies to spare each others feelings? Are we actually doing anyone any favors by allowing them to live a life of self-delusion? Are we so fragile as to be broken by some facts? Or maybe how we are perceived isn't a complete accident. Maybe it is a defense mechanism and we are purposeful (if not subconsciously) in allowing ourselves to be misperceived.
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2 comments:
Welcome to the new blogroll :)
RE "What if we all stopped telling the itty bitty white lies to spare each others feelings? Are we actually doing anyone any favors by allowing them to live a life of self-delusion?"
My opinion on this is that I do not have the right to NOT be insulted. But I do have the right to be afforded protection under the law from violent threats of a personal nature.
For example, I might find claims that the holocaust did not occur to be insulting, but I do not expect protection by law from being insulted in this way. If I demanded not to be insulted, this might limit the right to express a differing political or an ideological opinion.
I think, however, that it is reasonable to expect protection by law from a holocaust denier who might threaten to personally turn me into a lampshade if I didn't agree with their opinion on the holocaust. (I am not jewish by the way.)
We are protected by law from acts of slander and libel but I do not see this as the same as being insulted by a different religious, political, economic or cultural view point.
Having said that, I do not expect to be protected by law from insult. Nevertheless, issues which are treated diplomatically or politely have the potential for a worthwhile exchange of information.
So, it may be advantageous to discuss controversial issues diplomatically. This may also be seen as "telling little white lies."
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