Soap Box #7: The Evolution of Thought for a Brighter Future

Whenever I go to a different country, I often take time out to reflect. Being in a foreign country can be such a sensory overload, new sights, sounds, smells, thus it’s important to take a step back every now and then.

Being in Cambodia, a country with an intensely dark history of mass genocide by dictator, Pol Pot, certainly demands lot of introspection, because it was only about 43 years ago that the madness came to an end – the year of my birth, 1979. It has made me start thinking about people’s ideas and beliefs.

What I’ve come to realise is that many ideas and beliefs often start with noble intentions, but then frequently get enveloped and co-opted by those with more nefarious and sinister agendas. If one looks at the major atrocities that have occurred over the past century, I don’t think that many people realised consciously what they were, at best, tolerating, and, at worst, perpetuating, and how much damage, pain and suffering it was causing others.

I hear people (particularly the younger generation) in Western countries in the Anglo-sphere, whining about how they have suffered at the hands of others. Many seem to have such myopic vision, and see ‘monsters’ and ‘evils’ that are figments of their imagination. If everything is perceived as either racist, sexist, or bigoted in any shape or form, then nothing is. So when genuine intolerance occurs, it is frequently brushed off, as it has lost its weight – it has been watered down by all the things that are not in fact, massive evils. It harkens back to the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

It has just reached a saturation point, for me, at least. Particularly when I see others perpetuate the exact things that they claim to have been victims of. Shouting down others’ voices, bullying tactics etc. are common place these days. As Nietzsche once said, to paraphrase, “Stare into the abyss long enough, it will stare back at you.”

When it comes to ‘hot topics’ like Critical Race Theory and Gender Theory, I find it morbidly fascinating how worked up people get over these things, because I think one’s race or gender are probably the least interesting and most mundane things about people, due to the innate nature of these immutable characteristics. It astounds me that many people place such high value on such boring characteristics.

Obviously I ‘see’ colour, sexual preference, age, body weight etc. I am not blind. But this does not necessarily mean I make an immediate snap judgment as to who the person is. Doing so, in my option, is bigoted, because it’s lumping all people of a certain category into a caricature or cliché of such people. Sure, some stereotypes can be true, but one has to allow for nuance. Surely a person’s actions and words will reveal their true nature. It’s patronising and arrogant to make judgments on appearance and societal labels alone. It also disallows the appreciation of the textures and multi-faceted layers that weave together to make various individuals who they are.

I’m far more interested in the essence of a person, their ‘spirit’. I will treat others as equals, and I will trust them, unless they prove themselves unworthy of this, through their own deeds and words. Should they prove me wrong, I won’t go on an evangelical tirade, by screaming or shouting them into submission, I’d rather just laugh or simple ignore them. “When people show you who they are – believe them the first time”.

I am generally accepting of most people, from all walks of life. Only surrounding oneself with people who agree with us is not just plain boring, at best – it can be detrimental to one’s own self-awareness and growth, at worst. I’m not a religious person but I do foster some of the valuable teachings. Almost all religious writings and doctrines espouse the same basic ideology: treat others as you want to be treated. When I look at some of the hysterical people spewing out the most hateful things, I wonder if this is how they, consciously or not, want to be treated?

There was a stage in the past when I, too, was swept up and taken with many common ideologies. It’s once people started playing with the language I started to become rather skeptical indeed. Redefining and the co-opting of language is at face-value, seemingly innocuous, but it is extraordinarily manipulative. Control the language, you control the message, and ultimately, the thoughts and actions of others. Language matters! But , I guess that's an entire different conversation. The main point is that I was humble enough to accept that some of my previously-held beliefs were flawed, and my thinking could evolve instead of remaining stagnant. Listening to others' opinions is vital, regardless if you agree with them, or not.

Furthermore, it makes very little sense to me that some people should bear the brunt of the ill-doings and misgivings of one’s ancestors, and when it’s convenient to certain parties, we are expected to erase people in the past too. Surely we don’t have to revere the people who have done less than honourable things in the past, but we should be able to learn from their mistakes so that history doesn’t repeat itself.

I clearly remember an incident where I was practically the only white person in a school in Athlone, Cape Town, with over 1000 students and a body of staff of over 50 teachers. Some kids stormed into my classroom during break, and started shouting at me, “You white poes (cunt)! You Nazi! You’re evil!”. Instead of shouting back at them, I calmly asked them to explain how they came to this conclusion. After they had calmed down, the ring leader explained how they had been learning about World War II in history class, particularly about the ideologies of the Third Reich pertaining to the Aryan race. I told them that I was born in 1979, World War II ended in 1945, how does this make me lumped in as a Nazi? To which he responded, “You’ve got blue eyes, fair skin and blonde hair.” I pointed out how flawed this logic was. Matching others’ ire only adds fuel to the fire.

A good-natured debate is something I’m always down with, regardless of subject matter. Not for the sake of winning an argument, but I am incurably and insatiably curious. It hurts me to see how little some people think for themselves and far too frequently get swept up in the mass hysteria. May truth, rationality, common sense mixed in with compassion and kindness prevail!

As always, Love, Peace & Light, Di