The tyranny of being right
We currently live in the age of opinions.
We should all have one on all issues. Whether or not we know what we are talking about. And not only that, when someone with more experience or knowledge tries to inform us of an error or an incorrect position, first we try to silence them, then we try to debate them, and finally, we insult them…
First of all, it is essential to establish that although all people deserve our respect. Not all opinions do. And even more critical, NOT all opinions carry the same weight. As much as social networks reward stupid, ignorant or malicious positions. The world is not your high school; you don’t have to be famous to be happy. Let’s grow up, please.
An easy and quick example to illustrate this: During Covid, many believed (and still do) that their “opinion” is equally valid as that of a medical professional, a virologist, or a biologist. The abyss of difference in knowledge is quickly justified by reading articles that confirm the incorrect basic thesis or adding someone with fame that is as misinformed as we are. Because let’s not fool ourselves, one of the great dangers of the Internet nowadays is that nobody knows who is behind the keyboards (if there is someone, there are already artificial intelligences writing complete articles and thesis) and what motivation they have to inform biasedly or even worse, simply lie. And until it is known, well, years can go by. And in the case of a disease like this, whoever was misinformed could have paid with their lives.
That’s how serious the issue is. Misinformation and propaganda can cause you an unnecessary death.
Being a free thinker does not guarantee being correct. Quite the contrary, dogmatic and immutable positions are an evident trait of authoritarianism and tyranny. Therefore, one must always assume that we either do not have the full facts, are not trained in a field, or simply that the issue is so complex that it is beyond our instantaneous capacity to consume and reason.
Being wrong and being corrected should never be a cause for shame. On the contrary, it is a magnificent opportunity to grow and analyze the different points of view and perspectives that life offers us. Human beings and the societies we create are highly complex, and simplifying all to the extreme, biasing information and infantilizing everything, will not improve our lives; on the contrary, we will be much easier to manipulate and deceive by those who really hold power. This small group of people control the media and has their own agendas for what reality should look like.
Yes, the so-called “narratives” are simply a way of telling the things that happen or inventing new ones to justify the measures implemented.
Naomi Klein rightly says in her incredible book “The Shock Doctrine” that power always tries to use important events such as a war or financial crisis to force measures that increase their control over the population, under the false premise of security or in the last few years. And lately of our health.
We must always doubt what they tell us, our mental states, and sometimes even our values.
Finally, imagine that you have a regular path on foot to return home, you have travelled it a thousand times, and you know that it is comfortable, safe and fast. But one day, a neighbour tells us that there is another path that takes more or less the same time, but in the centre of it, there is a beautiful garden full of flowers and trees… What would you do? Would you try it? Either fear or stubbornness would make you discard it immediately…. If you never try it, you will never know that you are missing something beautiful to be admired, but you will still be right….
PS: the image on the post is an allegory; we create that cage every day that we don’t let in new ideas, new ways of explaining and solving things, and new ways of living your sexuality or relating to people. And yes, whoever lives in that cage is mired in fear. Fear of the other, fear of the unknown, fear of not being right…
Why choose to live in fear?
Have a good week.
