One of the results of being a Philosophy major as an undergrad is significant exposure to the notion of “Solipsism.” Webster’s defines it as “a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing.” This particular term became of great significance among many philosophers but my own experience with it involved one of the leaders of the school of Continental Rationalism, Rene Descartes. He is best known for the tautological statement - “I think therefore I am.” The biggest problem he encountered in this regard involved the physical limits of human perception, a reality that to many philosophers meant humans are effectively trapped in their physical bodies and incapable of objectively experiencing the world around them. The truth is, however, we can NOT objectively experience the world around us. The apparent result of this reality today is a growing focus on the self regardless of the apparent cost of such a view.
Few things underscore the growing reality that humans, and Americans in particular, are focused on satisfying their personal desires and needs more than the way in which we view others. One of the ways in which this is best exhibited is the observable interactions between humans on social media. Here’s an example - I’m “fully vaccinated” and wear a mask whenever I’m around folks who don’t live in my home. I do NOT, however, look down upon or discount the views of those who do not want to receive a vaccine for COVID-19. Granted, I think they’re making a huge mistake barring an actual allergy to any component of the vaccines, however I do not think less of them for not sharing my viewpoint.
Contrary to what far too many embrace as “fact” most of the information served up by the mainstream media is far less than reliable. Logic is all that’s required to conclude that wearing a mask that readily filters out sub-micron particles protects the wearer and those around them. The same logic does not work when it comes to “vaccines” developed by for profit companies in far less time than previous vaccines were brought to market. There is no reason at all for someone to believe the primary focus of vaccine makers in the US is the health and well-being of the average American. Illness and disease are the financial lifeblood of for profit medicine. Any interest they have in humanity is grossly colored by this “profits uber alles” mentality. Put otherwise, the doubts many have about the safety and efficacy of commercially developed and sold medical compounds in no way indicates they are totally unreasonable.
Despite these history based doubts far too many who are among the “pro-vaccine” crowd, rather than honestly discuss their differences with those who disagree with them, simply dismiss them out of hand. Recently I’ve read more and more posts from members of the Twitter-verse who make absurdly disparaging remarks about anyone who disagrees with them on any subject. Interestingly, at least from my perspective, most of these individuals insist they are some sort of “leftist.” In fact, of course, they are NOT. Instead, they’ve gone fully Cartesian and de facto concluded their view of the world is the ONLY view that matters - they are wrong. Indeed, they are certainly as wrong as any of their opponents who insist that public safety MUST take a back seat to their personal comfort.
In its simplest terms, the average American today merely HAS opinions. In and of itself there’s nothing wrong with that but when those opinions become the foundation of every human interaction and inevitably leads to irrational conflict the outcome cannot be anything that will help our nation. Dialogue and the realization that while I can never be you and you can never be me we are capable of positing viewpoints other than our own even if we can never truly experience them. Resolving differences requires that we accept, even as a matter of faith, that no two humans can or will ever see the same external thing in exactly the same way. It’s fine to be me and it’s fine to be you but we begin to understand when we reach out to one another as equals and seek, first and foremost, to understand. It is on the road we travel together that we can find the path matters more than the place to which we travel.
Gotta be me