On Human Behavior and Current Events
Humans are incredibly reluctant to see themselves as less informed, making bad decisions, unknowingly supporting error or evil, and being fooled. They will, honestly, die defending a choice, rather than admit they were flawed.
It is one of our greatest weaknesses as a species. There is a gentle process, where you can lead people to figure it out themselves, but just telling them, even showing them evidence, often causes them to double down. I wish this weren’t true, but there are tons of studies about it. Ignorant people are fragile, and that sucks for anyone hoping to make change. (from Richard Rohr’s daily post)
On Hope: Excerpt from Lessons from a Viral Angular Fish Video
In our human nature, we are limited in what we experience, and the scope of what we don’t know will always outweigh what little we do know. . .
This short, viral video – and the reaction to it – reminds me of the divine gift of curiosity, the opportunity to explore and discover exciting and beautiful things about the world. These new discoveries challenge us, making us question our perception of the world, flipping what we think we know upside down.
And the result of this curious thinking? Hope. When we ask questions and broaden our perspectives, we affirm that our knowledge is limited, and we are open to knowing more. When we are curious, we make a commitment to trying — trying to inquire, trying to discover, trying to connect.
In Hope: A User’s Manual, MaryAnn McKibben Dana writes that hope is not optimism, anticipating the best outcome despite the facts. Rather, hope is a commitment to reframing and possibility. Hope acknowledges that “things just suck” sometimes. Yet, “a hopeful orientation ruminates, turning the situation over and over, refusing to give up on possibility.”