Have you ever heard the term “Laws for thee, not for me?” Have you seen someone argue an absurd point and look to some ridiculous “News,” site (Propaganda site), or a Youtube video to deliver a dose of idiocy? How about someone that applies morality in correcting others’ actions, but doesn’t practice it themselves? If you’ve answered yes to these questions, then you’ve experienced moral inconsistency and confirmation bias firsthand.
One of the biggest issues in modern society is that individuals are morally inconsistent and search for confirmation bias in others, and via online sources, rather than admit they were ever wrong. It is that psychologically damaging to be wrong or to have to say, “I apologize,” to someone? This can be from the most minute thing to entire political ideologies; whereas I myself have been apologizing for years for most of my life I’d lived almost a decade ago.
People today would rather destroy friendships, relationships, familial bonds, etcetera… rather than entertain the notion that they aren’t right about something. Rather than research, and research the research to verify its authenticity, people would rather share memes (low attention span information) with confirmation bias and unchecked facts!
A quick look into politics in America will verify the validity of my claim; People pick a side, their side is right, the other is wrong… each… and every… time. It’s sports but on a level that affects us all, whereas a person picks a team and even when their team does something wrong, they are blind to it but will call out the other team for doing the exact same thing. They watch and read the news that fits the narrative they so desperately want to believe, and rarely deviate into further investigation. This is a succinct lack of moral consistency and a search for confirmation bias.
It has gotten so bad that people will resort to liable slander, doxxing, and even wonton acts of violence to protect what they think is right, without proof and without looking behind those who tote their narrative. People don’t want to be wrong, even at the expense of another person’s life and wellbeing. People don’t want civil discourse, they want to be told that they are right and others are wrong, they want to be the victim even when they are the ones victimizing others.
I heard a joke when I was younger, a bad example of a Buddhist walks into a room and shouts, “I am the most humble and peaceful individual on earth and I’ll kick your butt if you don’t believe me,” that’s modern society!
People need to realize that in their quest to be the most right, most righteous, most good person, they have become the worst example of humanity. It is mass narcissism, a delusion afflicting numerous generations at once, on all sides of the spectrum, and a mass choice to remain willfully ignorant. I am sure someone reading this right now is thinking, “Geeze this summarises [insert political party or figure here],” and those thinking that would be exactly who this article is about.
Those in the middle, those who hold no qualms with saying “I’m sorry, I was wrong,” those who do research and refuse to play “let me find an article to substantiate my ignorance,” and who would rather search for the truth… are often outcasts. Those who use logic and rational thinking are treated like some kind of weirdo for not cherry-picking their way through life. On social media, this is especially prevalent, whereas you are one thing or another, or you don’t fit in with anyone.
Morality is not subject to who one applies it to, individual morals one holds should be first applied to one’s self thereby setting the standard, secondly held to scrutiny. If someone is morally consistent, in that they hold themselves accountable to the same moral scrutiny that they subject others to, I have respect for them, even if they are my diametric opposite. If someone is morally inconsistent, I don’t care who they are, I cannot respect a hypocrite or someone who is morally bankrupt.
My suggestion, realize that everyone is fallible, that saying “I’m sorry, I was wrong,” takes critical thinking and character and doing the research on what you think you believe, may eliminate a lot of media indoctrination and confirmation bias. Try wearing the costume of all sides of something you believe and you might find that deeply held beliefs, were nothing but propaganda, indoctrination, and ignorance. Free yourself from the foible and trappings dehumanizing others, read all sides of a subject, let yourself be free from external influences inasmuch as possible.
You are not perfect, you are not special, which unto itself is special because you’re a part of the larger cause of humanity. Don’t let your quest for humanity leave you inhuman, don’t let your quest to be some crusader morally dehumanize other human beings. Don’t let your bias dictate your life, and live a morally sound life, in which you hold yourself to the same or greater morals and thoughts that you hold others to. Maybe then, we as a society can move forward, maybe then we can have real progress… as one!