Wow, I love it when God does that —
proves me wrong. I wonder if you can relate. I just read a comment on a thread:
“great minds think alike.” Just rolls off the tongue doesn’t it. It has been
uttered by myself many a time I can tell you.
What if great minds thought
differently such that the greater knowledge might be a collective knowledge?
What if we were meant to rub up against those who have different views,
experiences and personalities to us? What if groupthink (look it up in
connection with the 1986 Challenger Disaster), which is a collective consensus
where everyone is forced by social pressure to conform, was wrong?
What if?
What if there was a place for the
proverbial devil’s advocate? What if someone was congratulated and praised for
bringing a different viewpoint instead of criticised and condemned? What if a
different viewpoint was actually encouraged instead of frowned upon? What if
organisations incentivised different thinking that challenged the status quo?
(By the way, some have.)
What if?
It would mean we would need to
debunk our false reliance on power and control.
It would mean we wouldn’t always
get our own way.
But it would also mean that a
broader knowledge could be embodied within the thinking system. It would mean
that people would fear being on the outer less. It would mean less social anxiety
and other mental illness. It would mean less fighting, arguing and senseless
wars. It would mean that we would make space for another person. It would mean
that in giving someone this space, that that space might be returned to us
occasionally. And it might mean we would be able to cohabit this world with
more peace.
And it would also occasionally mean
that people who have power over us would think differently to us. Yes, that is
an uncomfortable thought. We might hope they would respect what we have to say,
but that doesn’t mean it will shift their view.
For me, great minds think vastly
differently. But great minds in my view can step into another person’s view and
appreciate it, genuinely, without castigating it. Yes, great minds are wise
enough to see that the relationship is bigger and more significant than the
issues that separate us are.
Just a thought.
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