Tag Archives: human connection

Compassion, Culture, Humanity, Kindness, Politics, Reason, Social Justice, Society

Played for Fools

cognitive-bias-chartI’m well aware that we have a very human tendency to think we’re being open minded when we’re mostly supporting our own existing world views.  Buster Bensen did a great piece on the issue of cognitive bias over on Better Humans recently and even provided a handy “cheat sheet” for improved self-awareness.

But even with my bias chart at hand to help dt5me approach the current political landscape with a truly open mind, I don’t see any other way to view the current Republican candidate as anything but an immature, manipulative,  narcissistic bully unfit to shine the shoes of any American, let alone function as the leader of our democratic republic.

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Compassion, Culture, Humanity, Kindness, Philosophy, Reason, Social Justice, Society

Rising Above Naive Realism

Be wary of the roles you play and the acts you put on, because you tend to fulfill the labels you accept. Above all, remember the more harm you cause, the more hate you feel. The more kindness you express, the more you come to love those you help. – David McRaney, author of You are Now Less Dumb

“Naive Realism” is a theory of knowledge that holds that we see the  world as it how we judgeactually is and our impression of it is an objective, accurate representation of “reality”.  Or put another way, it is “the conviction that one’s own views are objective and unbiased, whereas the other’s views are biased by ideology, self-interest and irrationality. ” (Naive Realism as a Barrier in Conflict Resolution)  It’s also a great obstacle to  self-awareness, civility and social justice.

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Compassion, Culture, Humanity, Race, Social Justice

An Epiphany on Race

face in the crowdYesterday afternoon I accidentally cut off another shopper with my cart on the way out of the store. I took my own advice about better connecting with people, looked directly at her, smiled apologetically and said, “I’m sorry!”

The woman gave me an unmistakable glare of disapproval and stalked past me without a word and out the door. She was a black woman.  Her reproach was palpable, and I felt small and miserable.

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