I Could Be Wrong

“I could be wrong.” 

One more time, a little bit more slowly.

“I……could…….be…….wrong.”

Amidst a sea of certainty and pride in today’s political world and social media, the above statement is a rarity, if even nonexistent, it seems.

Instead of humble self-reflection, there is most often arrogant assuredness.

For opponents of Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protest during the national anthem, there was the Tim Tebow counter argument, amidst others.

With the Black Lives Matter movement, there was the All Lives Matter counter argument.

With allowing Syrian refugees into America, there was the homeless US veteran or terrorist counter argument.

It sort of goes along with my idea here...

For every national event that gets every one talking, there is always a swift counter argument (complete with a witty meme) made by both sides.

I never see someone listening, pondering, and considering that their established viewpoints could actually be wrong.

One of the greatest gifts I have been given in my life is to have an extremely well-rounded exposure to this world.  I grew up in a conservative culture both politically and religiously but went to college in a predominantly liberal culture.  I have traveled the world as well as lived long periods of time in multicultural areas of North Carolina and thus had exposure to people of many different cultures and religions.  My education and professional training over the years also served to teach and expose me to varieties of life that make up this world.

This gift of exposure has taken away many of the fears, misunderstandings, and assumptions I have had at some point in my life about others different from me.  If anything, it has caused me to appreciate and learn from them.

More importantly, it helped to teach me the importance of not rushing to a default opinion but to listen, question, and examine.  It taught me that I am not always right, that there are grey areas, and that there is much to be learned from listening to someone’s opposing viewpoint.

At given points of my life, I have fallen on one side or the other of most hot button issues:  LGBT rights, gun control, and abortion, among others.  This has stretched me, helped me to respect others, and taught me such an appreciation for those different.  It’s not a forced appreciation.  It’s a real one.  Because I’ve tried to put myself in their shoes and understand.

Am I proposing a wishy-washy kind of thinking?  A kind where you jump to new opinions on a weekly basis?  No, I am not.  There is a strong value in having a grounded belief system and knowing where you stand on a subject.

What I am proposing is that in our belief system, we maintain openness to the very real fact that we could be wrong.  In doing so, it keeps a respect for other viewpoints, we don’t rush to assumptions, we are more prone to listen to others, and ultimately, we allow the possibility that we could indeed change our viewpoint and grow in our thinking.

I don’t have all the answers in life nor am I the ideal model of living, but I can say from experience that this approach has brought a more grounded, loving, mind-advancing, and fulfilling way for me to live my  life.

And it’s one I think the world desperately needs.