The two sides of the Coin:

And how being educated is just as dangerous as having an opinion

It's two thousand and twelve. The year is barely in it's infancy, and already it smells like an election year. The NDAA has everyone in an ceremonious uproar, we've got Mormons arguing over who's going to be the next, republican, President, and every last inch of social media is clogged by opinionated people shouting to the heavens. It's caucus day in Iowa, so this feels a little more normal than usual, but still leaves me feeling remarkably sedated. It's like attending a Thanksgiving, where nobody admits they're just thankful for big televisions and being better than everyone else, but rather expects you to swallow several helpings of lies with your instant mashed potatoes. It's the kind of thing that leaves one with a strong desire to get drunk, stare into the heart of the dysfunction, do something drastic, and end up wandering into some house of shame and ill repute to blissfully fuck all the bad vibes out of your skull. I strongly advocate fucking on days like this, because there's really nothing more awakening to the mind than a stiff right hook to the jaw.

There were a lot of things to look at in the world and, like any good Patriot, this got me thinking. It didn't get me thinking about the right and wrong of the NDAA, or the heated passion behind the SOPA arguments. Frankly it didn't make me think about any of the actual issues that seemed to be represented on the social news foods and blogs I tend to follow. Instead I sat back, had a strong drink, and took a good look at just where all this was coming from and that's when the terrible idea came creeping into my brain like some devious beast in the night, seeking to plunder any sense of comfort I might ever feel.

Most of the world exists in a world where you're taught to accept everything, in the best way possible. A prime example of this would be the LBGT practices and teachings that are going on in the world. Teaching people to be accepting and tolerant, it's a wonderful thing, but what about the other side of the coin? What impact is this constant demand for acceptance training doing to the world? What kind of people are we really raising in this world? Are we actually teaching people to accept the world around them as right through the process of objective research and opinion forming, or are we just beating them into a semi-state of cowardice where they're too afraid to have an opinion because they don't want to be seen as judgmental?

What if it goes a step further? I admit this one is a stretch, but what if this whole process is encouraging people to remain uneducated because ignorance is more socially acceptable than being seen as some stone thrower or evangelical imposer of a self defined sense of what's right? What if it's becoming a shameful thing to be educated because it forces one into a sense of having an opinion that was uncomfortable in its simple principle of existence? What if we're breeding a world of dullards simply because being uneducated and 'stupid' is something most are willing to overlook rather than paint a bull's-eye on? What if we're fucking our way to 'Idiocracy' because we're teaching people it's just as dangerous to have an opinion as it is to be wrong about the laws of physics when jumping off a building?

There are countless, present, examples where one can see the signs of intelligence be shunned and even more where they stand as an actual sign of mockery. If you're skeptical, check a chat room sometime, or go play a video game with strangers over the internet. When provided with a sense of anonymity the vast populace of these places, which represent a selective but significant demographic of people, are more interested in spitting on those who they feel might threaten their intellectual stasis prison. The dots may be far apart, but connecting them doesn't seem too terribly difficult to me. We're teaching people that they have to accept everything as 'right', so long as it's a personal or cultural choice, and anyone who takes the time to educate themselves and form an independent opinion? Well, those people are cancers to the system and should be purged with a vicious round of anti-social antibiotics.

Assuming that's true, what does it leave in it's wake? If the world is too frightened to form singular opinions for fear of being judged and those who do seek to step outside of that are hit with large rocks, what's left? It seems sensible to me that, and this is again assuming both these ideas are true, it leaves only a partisan sense of bandwagon mentality on any issue. It doesn't matter what the context in question is, what the situation is, or how many possible opinions one could have on it, one is left with only three options: Option 1 is on one side of the line and holds a position on the argument none will admit to having formed on their own, but is more than happy to validate it with the words of others. Option 2 is to take the opposite side of the argument and do the exact same thing. Option 3 is to say 'Fuck This' to the Oregon Trail and avoid the whole damn wagon train altogether, which leaves you cast in some passionless and driveling role, free to be condescended to because, ultimately, it's about picking a side, not having a thought.

You're heads or tails, red or blue, okay with gay people or not. You're a liberal or a conservative, you support the tea party or you support the constitution. You think smoking pot is for losers or people who just like to relax and have a good time. You think monagamy is for people too closed minded to really understand love or that polyamorous people are just selfish nymphos who're going to end up diseased - you pick a side and someone, somewhere, will instantly consider you the enemy. Someone will see you as wrong. Someone will brand you a closed minded, narrow viewing, dimwit mongoloid who subsists on drool and keeps the company of scabs and vermin, and there's nothing worse than that, is there?

I say have an opinion and be informed. Read your laws. Use your internet. We live in a world where nearly anything you want sits at your fingertips, whether you want it to be there or not. I say find something that motivates you to look at the coin, but actually look at it. Look at what's in front of you and think practically about it. Look at the heads, because that's the side that does all the talking, but be weary of silver tongues selling things that sound exactly what you want them to be in the end. Look at the tails, because this is where the heart of your opinion will truly lie. It's not about what you agree with, but ultimately in why you disagree with what's on the other side of the coin. If you can't find hard facts and sound reasoning as they you think the way you do about something, then you choice is simple: Keep looking. Keep digging, it's out there and you will find it.

Treat every argument like you're buying a used car. The salesmen for it, no matter which car you're looking at, will always tell you everything you want to hear about the car to make you buy it. If you look around for a second opinion, you'll be told that everyone else you talked to is just partial, biased and lying to you. The only way you're going to know absolutely is to get behind the wheel yourself and drive it. Pay no attention to patrons of the road, don't listen to the voices that tell you it's a bad car for you, simply get in and drive. Listen to the engine, feel the road under your tires, test the suspension, give it a full field test and then decide if it's the right car for you. If it's not? Take it back and state firmly your lack of interest 

And never, ever, forget that you're not limited to having just a car, there's always a motorcycle.