Society Today

Something has been bugging me for awhile that I have only recently been able to put into words. There has been a drastic increase in the 'Me' culture. Now the question is what do I mean by 'Me' culture. I don't mean individuality, I don't mean standing up for yourself and I don't mean fighting against injustice. These seem to be the themes of the day, but why? We live in a society that says that they embrace our differences, but do they really?

The answer to that is no. Unfortunately, our society is being tricked. We're being told that we're moving towards being more inclusive,  but are we really? We must be, right?

Wrong. While society is being groomed to include minorities it's also being groomed to reject the majority. We're not being led towards harmony, but division. We're not being taught to respect everyone and their views. We are being taught that certain views are superior to others.

Why is this a problem? Because without understanding you get ignorance and disrespect. Without respect you get hatred and violence.

So, the question then evolves into why is our society going down this road and how do we stop it? This is the basic questions that I had struggled with for so long. It should be simple, but the answer wasn't straightforward. Everything that I could think of didn't seem to fit. At first I thought it was how people were being raised, but my parents generation were more inclusive than the current one is. Then I got to thinking about popular culture and how it seems to put people into boxes, but that didn't really seem the fit either.

Then the other day I started reading a book that pieced it all together. The missing piece is abuse. We are being emotionally abused by the media and popular culture. We're being told that unless we agree with their views we are wrong. Now I know that the response to this from most people is that I'm wrong. That our society is becoming more progressive and that the problems are coming from bigoted people. It's what the media tells us over and over again. That only people who are homophobic would be against the Gay Pride movement, only Christians say that they have found the only truth, and only those who are Islamophobia are against Muslims. The list goes on and on. But is that the truth?

Aren't we allowed in this country to have out own opinions. I mean, that's what you're supposed to be fighting for, right? You want equality and to be accepted for what you are, right? But what about everyone else? Shouldn't you accept them for who they are even if you disagree with them? Shouldn't everyone be allowed their own view of things even if it's unpopular?

But the majority can't be unpopular so the rules don't apply. Or at least that's what they tell us. We're told over and over again that all our problems are the fault of others. We're poor because others are greedy, we feel bad about ourselves because others made us feel that way, we aren't successful because other people are keeping us down, but is that the truth?

We live in a land of incredible opportunities. There are more ways now than ever to get a degree. We have the richest poor people in the world. Everyone has access to a phone and internet. Everyone has the ability to watch the news and stay informed about what's going on in the world. Everyone has access to healthcare and it's even mandatory. So, why aren't we entering the best period of society?

It's about control. We're being taught that we need to force others into accepting our views. That the popular way is the only way and that everyone else is wrong. We're not being told to accept our differences, but to force others to see life like we do. This is why Black Loves Matter is supposed to be accepted but All Lives Matter is hate. It expresses another viewpoint, one that's not 'Me' centered. Black Lives Matter wants to control your views. GLAD (the LGBT organization) wants to control your views. All of these 'minority groups' want control. It's not enough to allow them to have their own opinions because their opinions are the 'only right way'! Those who don't agree are called names, told that their opinions are invalid, and sometimes even dealt with violently in order to change their minds to the 'right way' of thinking. If the relationship between minorities and the majority was looked at like a marriage the minorities would be abusive and the majority abused.

So, what do we do then? How do we go back towards inclusion instead of excluding the minority or the majority? We have to find empathy. We have to be able to put ourselves in the other person's position. This goes for all sides, not just one. We have to learn to love and accept others for the way that they are, but this is a two way street. I can love and accept you for who you are, but if you don't return that on me I will eventually become bitter and give up on you. The only way to stitch our nation back together is to all meet in the middle and agree that we are all individuals and all have valid view points.

As long as these view points aren't expressed in violent actions towards others there is no harm in having them. If you want to persuade others to your cause do so with your reasoning instead of abusing the other side into changing their minds just to stop the onslaught. How can you expect kids to give up on bullying others when they're seeing the adults around them every day doing the same things. Let's practice what we preach.