In case you haven’t noticed, there is a general theme that is present in all of my articles thus far. Everyday I continue to see logical fallacies and victimhood mentalities sweeping through my environment like a cancer that feeds on negativity and blame shifting. How can we ever expect things to change (assuming it really needs to, and you’re not just creating problems other people would love the opportunity to have) if all we ever do is point the finger at other people?
As humans we hate to be uncomfortable. We are used to routine, but have an evolutionary tendency to try to create problems that aren’t really there. This ‘fight or flight’ response is great when you are trying to avoid being a predator’s lunch, but slightly less necessary when being caught up in who was bad-mouthing you about how you choose to live your life.
The issue here is that we’re too comfortable. We have all of our basic needs met, so our minds start to wonder about less important issues and assign higher priority to them. We secretly crave something to stand up and fight against. We are quick to rally into groups to fight against something before we educate ourselves or even ask questions about it’s importance relative to other things. Standing up for what’s right is what moves society forward, and it should always be embraced. The problem arises when we feel like we’re entitled to force our will on other people because we found enough people that hold the same belief of false victimhood.
If you live in the United States, you enjoy the highest standard of living in the world. Why is it, then, in a world where there are people dying to get here, we insist on demonizing people that enjoy more monetary wealth than we do? Have we been so focused on blaming corporations and the ‘1%’ that we’ve forgotten that we Americans are the richest 5% of the world? Are we so entitled that we believe we should be awarded things we haven’t worked for, even when we are born with the ultimate advantage?
Things aren’t black and white, and there is no such thing as a utopian society. All we can do is try to minimize disparities as much as possible without the use of force and violence. Ask yourself about the importance of the things you are rallying against. Be willing to engage in the tough question of what decisions that YOU have made that have resulted in your current situation. The second you assign blame to someone else for your misfortune, you give them alone power to change it. Unfortunately, people tend to be much more willing to give other people power in exchange for the comfort of not having to make those sacrifices.
Believe me, there are going to be far more people willing to affirm your reasoning behind blaming others, because it gives them affirmation for the unfairness of their own shortcomings. As they say, “misery loves company”. My challenge to you is to lose some friends, sacrifice some time, energy, and (well invested) money to do what truly matters to you; as long as it is what you want, not what you’ve been told to believe.