Let The Foolish Speak

The reason i don't support cancel culture is very straightforward. I want to know where the fools are. And i want other's to know too. I learned this during my painful religious deconversion 16 years ago. I was in a personal situation where i needed to listen to lots of voices which were providing vastly different viewpoints, and it was in these comparisons when I was able to hone my own views. So when i encounter those who want to silence voices that don't spin the same narrative it perplexes me. What are you so afraid of? Are you genuinely interested in knowing how the world is or is your questioning merely performative? Now I accept that some people are horribly offensive and nasty and they say things with malicious intent. And there are other's that want to straight up troll and deceive. Yet surely its preferrable to know who they are even should we choose to indulge them only for a while? I view cancel culture as both weak minded and a form of self harm. You are cacooning yourself from alternative ideas, locking yourself away in your own echo chamber. In so many ways it is this that has gotten us to the point where there is so much social animus. We have stopped listening to each other. We have allowed our minds to become safe and sterile and, dare I say it, feeble. Sometimes the only way to figure out a path through a difficult situation is to walk a difficult path. That can mean discomfort, trauma, and yes, engaging with those that might not agree with our palate. But ask yourself; is it truly wise to close yourself off from potential new ways of thinking? Wise not to test what you already assume to be true? I cannot imagine a more surefire pathway to ignorance. It is anti growth, it is a choice to shrivel and become little more than a closed minded dolt. If you have any interest in growing as a human you have to make a commitment to step out into territory that might initially feel unsafe. If you want to widen your lens, open your mind, and take a journey of engagement rather than seclusion then this is the best road, perhaps the only road for you. The cobbles might hurt your bare feet. The surface might be uneven and pitted. And the potholes may be deeper than you'd like, but I suggest you stand a greater chance of better understanding the world when you arrive at the end of the track.