We will never get anywhere together while we allow others to divide us...

Until the American public rescinds its' biases and instead attempts to critically analyze the world around it, these divisions will exacerbate. Internet "news" and the rapid dissemination of information perpetuates misguided discourse fueled by ideology instead of research, belief instead of understanding, falsehood instead of truth. I don't claim to know anything, because I genuinely don't know anything. I don't know enough about Trump's presidency, administration, or politics to make any educated or informed opinion, and even then, I should always remind myself of the limitations of my knowledge and the very real possibility that everything I believe in is completely bogus and unsubstantiated by reality.

Wow I couldn't have said that better myself. I wish everybody could step back a second and look at their thought process. Take any thoughts that are driven by emotion and discard them. Base their opinions on real facts, which in turn would lead everyone to realize there are none anymore. We have no idea what is going on with the wars we are fighting. No idea where our tax money goes. No idea who is truly running our country or what their real agenda is. We don't even know who to asks to find any of this out. We live in an enormous bizarre that constantly tries to distract us from everything that truly matters. One giant technology driven circus in which we are the clowns and don't even know it. We run around spraying seltzer in each others faces trying to one up each other about things that have no meaning. Completely oblivious to the reality of the fact that the people selling us the seltzer water laugh at us all the way to the bank.

I admit a rather vague analogy of the situation but it's late lol. I appreciate your comment and am happy with the knowledge, that I'm not the only clown willing to admit that the only thing I know is that I know nothing at all.

Your analogy works very well, especially when you compare mudslinging between different groups of people to a "giant technology driven circus in which we are the clowns and don't even know". I really enjoyed your meme, and the fact that it accurately notes that bias transcends ideology: everyone has bias, but some people have much more bias than others. Or do they, I don't know.

Being humble with knowledge and what we think we understand is the first step towards acquiring more accurate knowledge and comprehending more of the world around us, and within us. Undertaking this process means devoting your life to study, research, analysis, and skepticism, open to anyone willing to do the work.

"Take any thoughts that are driven by emotion and discard them."
I will try, because it's all I can do, and it's all anyone can expect from anyone else.

It appears as though a majority of the human race is losing it's ability to have an open mind and see things from another persons perspective. Which are two of the main abilities I use in order to obtain knowledge from other people in general.

Sun Tzu wrote this in the 5th century B.C. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

It amazes me that the humans have had such wise words to study for such an incredibly long period of time. Yet even now we have people in a uproar about one thing or another that they literally have no true knowledge about. It's the people that disagree with us that we can learn the most from.

You will never learn anything if you choose to listen only to those who have the same ideals and belief systems as yourself. You'll just hear the same opinions over and over until your mind is so closed to anything knew it won't let anything else in. I believe true happiness only comes from a constant quest of new knowledge. From having an open mind and never letting another persons opinion being different from your own be a negative situation. Perspective is everything, if you choose to set yours on tunnel vision unwilling to see anything but what you want to look at. You'll miss out not only on knowledge but on life itself.

For what are we if not an accumulation of our past knowledge and experiences. That being said the only reasonable way to expand who we are is to gain more knowledge and experience every day if can. Without it we would be nothing more than an empty shell walking around angry at all the things we don't understand.

I love the way you think! This convo is a rare piece of mind candy!

Thank you! Props to Jying for creating the meme and his/her words of wisdom.

I believe we are on a rather even scale in this conversation. One of the best I have ever had on this site for sure. By looking at your page it appears you are a college student is that correct? If so it is even more impressive that you have such an open minded view on things. I had to make a lot of mistakes in life to reach where I am at mentally. To see somebody half my age most likely thinking the way you do renews my hope in the future of our species ;)

Thank you for your kind words! I'm blushing, you're so sweet! ;)

Yes, I am a college student, although I started creating content on this site when I was a sophomore in high school, then I took a long break, and recently I've made a return. In college, I am a freshman majoring in history, but I'm open to change my major should my interests shift or wane in history. I don't want facts, I want the tools of research and paper writing, I want to acquire and analyze the facts independently of a textbook or hearsay, although I haven't started doing these things yet, I have to wait until my later years in college.

If you want to continue chatting about anything, shoot me an email: [email protected].

Agreed, agreed, agreed, agreed, and agreed. Very wise words and very true words.

Almost everyone knows what he/she needs to do in order to escape their predicaments and to achieve happiness and success in life, but often, people establish their own inhibitions and obstacles that prevents them from exploiting their innate wisdom; your quote from earlier also applies here, "Take any thoughts that are driven by emotion and discard them", because immediacy and swift gratification, coupled with a subconscious anxiety over change and false comfort with complacency, construct a prison, a jail, a cell, for every positive, productive, proactive thought one has. Sloth and fear clip the wings, while ignorance masks the senses, and stupidity possesses the mind.

I couldn't agree more, next to 0% government is the best :)

Nice

I cannot believe everyone is okay with each other right now, and actually speaking reasonably! Congrats, you all get a cookie for not raging!

Yes. *Gives some*

Notice there are American flags with the patriots that believe in freedom.

Hey I saw flags on the other pics of them I didn't use, sure they were on fire, but they were there lol.

Lol so true