Julian Cope presents Head Heritage | The Modern Antiquarian Forum

TomBo

1629 posts

And Still More Unity!

Jul 01, 2003, 14:02

(...continued)

Every one of us thinks that their own point of view is right. That's why we each hold that view, and not another one. And that's why its so easy to take the very fact that someone holds a different view to be an insult to your own point of view. We each hold our views because we believe them to be truer than other ways of looking at things. I even dare say that some of us are closer to the truth than others - who knows? Its certain, however, that if you are closed to new ideas then you are usually about as far from the truth as you can get. And I'm also sure that its impossible to convince people of the validity of your particular view by forcing it down their throats. The preacher might shout his beliefs loudly and passionately, but if I do not share them then I'll quietly slip out of the back door and he won't even notice I've gone. And if you even want people to do you the honour of telling you their innermost beliefs then they have to feel confident that you're not just going to say "well that's a load of crap and this (insert your own viewpoint here) is clearly the truth". Why would people set themselves up for that sort of a bashing? There's no reason, and that's why some people have stayed out of this.

I think its a tragedy that so many people (I'm not just referring to this forum but to life in general) are reluctant to involve themselves in this sort of discussion. I love to hear about other people's beliefs and am always interested and excited to discover a different way of looking at things. And I firmly believe that it is only through discussion (not silence) that people can ever learn to tolerate other people's points of view. But I entirely understand that many people's feelings about their beliefs are like beautiful, delicate flowers, easily hurt by careless footsteps.

So let's all just hold hands and sing, okay?

In reply to:
Unity! (TomBo)

Replies:
Here! Here! (Jane)
Good grief! (FourWinds)

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