Thursday, July 19, 2018

Your View of America Is Legitimate

From the front porch of every life, there is a different perspective of our country. One thing about America is you get to have your view. If you believe you're perspective is legit, then you need to acknowledge that everyone else's view is as legitimate as yours.  Let's engage in a little whatboutism.

What about people who have lived in many places and seen many sides of this great nation. Is their perspective more legitimate? No.

What about people who have friends in many different interest groups and ethnic groups and races and classes. Surely they would have a more important view of America, wouldn't they? No.

What about a person who has lived in a small community of like minded and like colored people their whole lives? Wouldn't their perspective be less important than mine? No.

What about gullible people who believe in the most exciting conspiracy theories they can find on the internet that let them feel like their special knowledge (for having read it on the internet and SEEN the contrails with their own eyes)? Wouldn't their paranoid and outlandish ideas make their opinion about their idea of America compromise their view of America? Yes, but no, they are fully entitled to their legitimate view of America.

How about someone with traumatic brain injury who has a much compromised ability to take in information about their surroundings? Yes, their own perspective is legitimate to them as yours is to you.

When you denigrate someone for believing in the most accurate picture of America as their minds can conjure, you are being unAmerican. 

If you want to change someone's mind, you have got to do the work. Get the story out in a way someone without your superior vision can understand and will then want to change their mind to agree more with yours. 

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