Leaders of the New School

The last two hours of my Sunday evening have carried along at a snail's pace, but I am not complaining. I think maybe it's because my mind has been traversing at lightning speed over several topics, but anyway let me get to the topic at hand:

Well I've been spending a lot less time on Facebook and a lot more time on Twitter, and as the individuals behind those accounts represent a cross-section of the U.S. (and the world for that matter), a lot of information is being shared. But I don't wanna talk about what is being shared I wanna discuss my observation on how this information is being shared.

I'm just noticing how condescending people are when they discuss and share information on subjects they feel strongly about: religion/spirituality, politics, music, race relations, war, economics...the list goes on. There are a number of reasons a person may feel strongly about a particular subject (books, personal experience, etc). I would like to present my theory on why these people are condescending towards others. I think it is because perhaps the so-called "expert" is simply annoyed that person doesn't see the world the way that they do. And then people are labeled "brainwashed" "sheep/sheeple" or some other variants. I see these terms thrown around a lot.

I think these people, "Leaders of the New School" as I like to call them, forget that they once shared the same mindset or train of thinking as the person they are being condescending towards, and at some point in time they experienced a "great awakening" from the way they used to view the world. They go through this phase in which they become angry at the thought of being misled, misinformed, "tricked"; "duped". This anger, this bitterness, is projected every time the subject of "expertise" comes up. It gives the enlightened person the opportunity to display their knowledge and satisfy their ego with the idea that they "know" more than others. They feel more powerful. After all, knowledge IS power. But what's really happening is the perpetuating of a cycle. The so called "enlightened" "expert" was once oppressed by the popular view and now that they separated from it, they use their knowledge to in turn oppress others. It is truly a sad psychological and emotional cycle.

I like this quote by theologian Hosea Ballou: "The oppression of any people for opinions sake has rarely had any other effect than to fix those opinions deeper and render them more important."

When one has been oppressed for so long, after a while one begins to take on the characteristics of his/her oppressor. It's one thing to disagree with another's words, which are a reflection of their position in their life's journey. But to belittle and devalue another person's being and their opinion is not only disrespectful but is hardly an indication of "enlightenment".

Leaders of the new school ought to be careful, lest they be exposed as merely "followers of the old school".