“A Jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”
I know a little about a lot. The internet has allowed me to dwell upon borders that I would never have access to otherwise. Twitter especially brought to my eyes immediate suffering happening worldwide. There was global solidarity — on one side and on the other — for atrocities that we could not look away from. It has allowed us to see the inner thoughts of people we normally wouldn’t interact with — for better or for worse. There have been so many rabbit holes I’ve gone down just to see people’s different perspectives, even those I don’t agree with.
This is how I’ve come to the conclusion about how culture carries a large role in how we interact in social settings. Macro- and micro-level culture interact with time and space to create the wide variety of ideologies each individual carries. What I mean by that is how we grew up, where we grew up, who our parents and caregivers are, how people treated us, what books we read, what movies we watched, our conscientious interactions with the world around us, plus more, all shape our internal values and sense of being. Visual queues and cultural interpretations of those visual queues (like skin color) guide what kind of human being we decide to be.
This isn’t exactly a new or profound thought. But because I’m able to better see the world as it is through the eyes and experiences of other people in real time, and because I now have the vocabulary to describe it, I am now able to have the most minute amount of patience with why people are the way they are. I give a lot more space than I would have prior to knowing all this shit.
It is so damn hard to be a decent human being. Our culture puts an extreme amount of pressure and expectation that you will treat other people like shit, and that’s just the way it is.
Our parents/siblings/extended family treat us like shit. That’s just the way it is.
Our friends will inevitably be shitty to us. Count yourself lucky if you get an apology. That’s just the way it is.
We have different values? Well that gives me the right to shit all over you. That’s just the way it is.
People are evil. There’s nothing we can do about it. That’s just the way it is.
AMERICAN VERSION
You threaten my FREEDOM. Over my dead body. Or rather, yours. That’s just the way it is.
Does it have to be that way though?
History has shown human progress. Slow, very slow human progress, but progress nonetheless. I refuse to sit with “That’s just the way it is” when I now know a way to make this life something better.
Being a decent human being is hard. Calling out bigotry in a way that makes you heard….hahahaha. I don’t know how to do that yet. We, as a society, are too busy thinking in absolutes that we leave no room for conversation about nuance.
I’m always open to the difficult conversations that a lot of people simply do not want to have. I might know a little about a lot — or perhaps there are some topics that I know a lot about — but I’m not afraid to say “I don’t know” or “I’ll need to do more research.” One cool phrase I’ve learned is, “I don’t know enough about that topic to have an opinion.” I feel that a lot a lot a lot a lot a lot as I look learn the inner workings of government. What the fuck am I even looking at?
Anyway, I digress.
I feel like a storm is brewing, and I’m preparing myself for whatever is to come. I know a troll when I see one. I recognize a person who comes to converse in earnest. I’ll engage the latter and ignore the former. So say hi, and ask me anything.
Saffron Coelho 