Breaking down these walls that obstruct the full story is not only difficult, but it is necessary; difficult because it takes considerable effort to tear down walls that proved so reliable, and necessary because the walls impede personal growth. To find out that a belief that you held so strongly is wrong or misguided is like leaning on a wall that gives way—suddenly you fall out onto the ground, leaving you exposed to the cold, harsh world. However, the pain of the fall is important because without the walls blocking your view, you can finally begin to understand other’s perspectives. The problem with my classmate’s assertion that political differences are something that can be looked passed in the same way a sports rivalry can, is that it fails to consider the feelings of others. Unlike a sports rivalry, supporting the wrong political team can have disastrous consequences. My classmate was so blinded by the walls he had built that he failed to see how his political stance harms others.
Most people cannot come to learn that their ideas are misguided without the help of some external force. This force is best provided through social activism. Paul Loeb discusses what he calls the “Gated community of the heart” in his book The Soul of a Citizen. He is referring to how closed-off and unsympathetic some people are to the plight of others. Poet and rapper, Noname, also comments on how some remain blissfully unaware of the problems that the world faces due to all the unimportant, frivolous distractions that we are bombarded with every day, in her song “Sunday Morning”. Social activism is the only tool that can effectively cut through the noise to access the “Gated community of the heart.”
We are too often caught up in our own personal bubble, refusing to look beyond the things that immediately impact us. We come to develop our beliefs based on our experiences within this small bubble, which may lead us to misguided or incomplete conclusions that could negatively affect others. We need to challenge these shallow perspectives to promote a more perfect world.
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