Conceptual filters bother me. It bothers me when people view the world and the issues therein always from one ideological dogma. I am not saying that I am against having a common set of principles and beliefs, I definitely have them as a Baha'i. I just think that it is very important to understand things in a different way, with different assumptions, using a different balance of objective and subjective tools.
For example, it bothers me that their is a stark intellectual gulf between 'left' and 'right' thinking. I come from a background that would be considered very 'progressive', 'left', 'liberal', etc. Growing up, I always tackled information and ideas with a pre-established opinion, effectively filtering out any ideas that did not conform with that opinion. ideas coming from Michael Moore or Amy Goodmen types were considered almost scripture.
Then something happened and I started questioning some assumptions. I started looking deeper into ideas, gathering information from many different sources, and realizing that my whole view of the world was full of holes. I started reading between the lines and noticing that various ideological mediums that I held dear always left out certain facts in order to create a consistent narrative. It was kind of scary; I had always felt rather secure in the narrative of my beliefs.
I am a firm believer in the independent investigation of truth. It is a nice belief, because it means that I can question it, and hopefully not be a hypocrite. I don't just mean a lazy investigation of truth, but a vigorous one that temporarily sets aside any implicit biases and cultural perspectives that we have been raised with. One that draws us outside of ourselves, using many sources of information and perspective.
I am at the point now that I feel I don't need to maintain a consistent conceptual fabric of reality to be able to affect change. New information does not need to be put into a pre-set equation of understanding in my mind. I feel now that if I continue to expand and deepen my knowledge and spirit, any new situation and idea can be dealt with on its own terms, with perception based upon experience and reflection, but not ideology.
6 comments:
This was a great analysis, Jason. I think we all struggle to remove those veils that prejudice our understanding of others. I think we seek a balance between keeping an open mind and remaining steadfast in our service to humanity. My upbringing swung wildly between a "conservative" and "liberal" education, and I have family from the whole spectrum. But as a Baha'i I feel I can't be pigeonholed into one side or the other (nor would I want to). It's tempting sometime for me to think that one of those sides is more right than the other on a particular issue/issues, but then I have to remember that in the big picture, the entire world is suffering and me choosing sides only makes it worse. I just came across this talk of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá when he was describing international peace conferences and how they have a good purpose, but the outcome is ineffective because it lacks the "spiritual universal force" necessary to put it into action (http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/ABL/abl-21.html#pg60).
The true solution is the spiritual healing that Bahá’u’lláh taught, summed up when he said: "Let your vision be world embracing" and "The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens". Even though I have belief in these teachings, I still have to work every day at removing the "conceptual filters" that a materialistic and prejudiced society smothers me with.
I'm reminded of this quotation from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
"The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light. One heart may possess the capacity of the polished mirror; another be covered and obscured by the dust and dross of this world. Although the same Sun is shining upon both, in the mirror which is polished, pure and sanctified you may behold the Sun in all its fullness, glory and power revealing its majesty and effulgence, but in the mirror which is rusted and obscured there is no capacity for reflection although so far as the Sun itself is concerned it is shining thereon and is neither lessened nor deprived. Therefore our duty lies in seeking to polish the mirrors of our hearts in order that we shall become reflectors of that light and recipients of the divine bounties which may be fully revealed through them." (Baha'i World Faith, p.218, http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/c/BWF/bwf-2.html.iso8859-1?query=dross&action=highlight#gr4)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this, Jason. I think it would be great if more people could join in a conversation about this and maybe we can all be inspired to work harder to remove barriers of prejudice and find more common ground in our quest for true world peace.
Jason, I really appreciate hearing this from others in the struggle. This has really given me food for thought and has reminded me of constant responsibility needed to really investigate the truth. It's so easy to fall into tracks of thinking that have been pre-established by society or family or friends, and I know I find this in myself.
It think one of the major challenges in this struggle is to remain uninvolved in the battle between left and right, but at the same time to be passionate and not simply to say "well neither side is right, and both have points. I guess I agree with everyone" while true, I also have to fight complacency.
Thanks for the reminder and inspiration
Dude, this is a huge struggle. I find myself constantly humbled as my preconceived notions change are torn down.
Especially challenging for me are ideas and practices that have been adopted by Baha'is, which should be seen as stages towards a Divine World Order and not the end all realization of those goals.
Last night we were reflecting on the success and challenges with neighborhood children's classes, and I found that the majority of my attitudes, which had been developed through years of service, needed to be tossed aside.
I appreciate that you continually encourage me to look beyond my own opinions and free from my own understanding, investigate the truth.
Thanks!
Liberals are dumb. What do you say to that? Huh? Huh?
Please check out this reference which among other things, describes the origins and consequences of the perceptual strait-jacket in which we are now ALL trapped---Webers Iron Cage or Newtons Shackles.
www.adidabiennale.org/curation/index.htm
A strait-jacket which has inevitably created the situation described in this reference.
http://global.adidam.org/books/not-two-is-peace.html
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