It's just so much... (76)
When we allow ourselves to believe that we view the world as it is, calling ourselves realists, we have too often slipped into the disposition of self righteous cynicism. That's not necessarily a judgment, either; it's more a recognition that most people who make those types of statements believe they know more than others and that there isn't any room for objectivity - more importantly that there isn't any room for growth. They believe and claim that any vision other than their own must be skewed and anything relative to hope is utopian. They also have a tendency to believe that they represent strength and that all others, aside from those who agree with them, represent weakness; particularly those who believe in the concept of peace. While many liberals might lean towards pacifism, it is not exlusive, and it should not be mistaken for weakness - it has often been earned from living a life of war; usually the type of war that conservatives dismiss.
Particularly in regards to myself, a utopian vision is as far from my reality as one could get. That's one of the interesting things about 'conservatives' vs 'liberals'. From what I've seen, most conservatives (right wing) talk about all the life they've seen, but they've never really experienced life through someone else's eyes. They have opinions about things they've never lived and yet don't even maintain the objectivity to open their mind to understand what the world looks like through another's experience. Anyone I've ever known who has had any true experience has the ability to be objective and to open their mind to new ideas with hope and compassion because they are able to understand the world through not only their own experience, but through the focal point of the experience of others. Their vision is wide and real at the same time, not narrow and false, which is the nature and tendency of bigotry.
There is far too much to learn to think we know it all,
and the world is far too big to let our minds grow so small.
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