See Yourself Through The Eyes of Your Haters

We live in a politically correct world that creates a vicious distance between the average person and everyone else. Political correctness says to deny your feelings regardless of the questions you have about a situation or the concerns you may feel the need to express. Do not say anything about anyone if it can be perceived as negative—which, in this day and age, is virtually everything. But what if you have a question about someone’s race, upbringing, or viewpoint as it relates to race, sexual orientation, gender, nationality, religious affiliation, etc.? Political correctness says it is better to live in ignorance than to genuinely try to understand someone who did not grow up as you did, inside your culture.

This means each generation becomes more disconnected from those who are different and more susceptible to own-race bias and unintentional discrimination due to underexposure. Political correctness allows a person to live among all groups while never truly knowing any group other than their native one. This causes a disconnect not only between individuals and groups but also within oneself.

The best way to avoid thinking more highly of yourself than you ought is to be humbled by the viewpoints of those who did not grow up in your bubble. If you believe blue is the best color in the world and you arrogantly declare it, and if the world is not allowed to challenge you for fear of hurting your delicate sensibilities, then you will never grow or learn anything beyond what you already perceive as correct. If someone is bold enough to say, “Hey man, have you considered yellow?” then that one question may trigger a chain reaction of growth and self-discovery.

The ability to question and challenge each other has been a primary catapult of discovery and innovation. Like a three-year-old consistently asking “why,” humankind has looked at human processes and thinking and asked, Why? Why do we believe this way? Why do we behave this way? Why do you think that way? Why do you think I should think that? Why, why, and why. The intelligent and well-versed among us try to answer the world’s questions, and the effectiveness of their answers shapes the minds of the next generation. To remove the “why” for fear of hurting someone’s feelings removes their ability to learn and our ability to grow. If they ask me why and I cannot defend my stance, then maybe I am standing on the wrong pillar.

What drives humanity is the why. Why are we here? Why does God allow problems? Why should I be kind to people? Why does racism exist? Why do we have the right to vote and to bear arms? Why is Christianity the only way to God? Why aren’t more politicians women? Why, why, and why. The moment my asking about someone’s religion, race, upbringing, gender, inequality, or bias becomes taboo, both their ability to learn and my ability to learn are impeded. If I am the one with the bias, I will never come to know it if anyone who questions me is considered a hater, bigot, racist, moralist, nationalist, fascist, or some other word ending in “-ist.”

In fact, we need the “haters.” Our critics allow us to recognize our own foolhardiness and address it. They force us to fully understand our hard stances. Our critics are the heat that forges the steel of our life and faith—and maybe, just maybe, they are not haters at all, but individuals who simply are not buying the nonsense we’re selling, thereby forcing us to stop the nonsense and form better viewpoints.

Bible Reference

Romans 12:3 (NIV): “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”