While I appreciate the attempt at an optimistic take, I do have to say that it's not primarily other people's opinions that give a lot of people the impression that we're reaching some danger point or another.
Living in an increasingly ideologically divided world where we dream up infinite reasons to hate each other and to fight about it, alongside emerging technology that makes wiping each other out a great dealer easier than it has been historically, is enough to give anyone a bit of a dim view.
That's also not to suggest that overly-pessimistic views are necessary or even at all warranted. Personally I'm interested in the solutions, which is why I did appreciate your last lines here, especially that of uniting divided people. One of my recent posts, Overcoming Divided States, is about exactly this, and there will be a follow-up some time soon.
I'd be instantly suspicious of any individual or organisation that set out to stop certain conversations because they aren't necessary or because they deem the people talking too ill-informed (or straight-up dumb) to be having them. That amount of power... Well, let's just say the buck wouldn't stop with the perceived dumb people. It wouldn't be long before people were being silenced for exploring viewpoints that differ from what's deemed acceptable.
What I'd love to see instead is a planet of people that begin to learn from all the trial and error we've been through and will go through in the future. We can call it wisdom, alongside the will to change.
As it stands, we form opinions and belief systems that we wrap up with our identities and egos, and this immediately reduces the likelihood of us taking the kind of initiative needed to change and to grow. There's simply too much at stake by that point, and it makes more sense to this kind of person to flesh out their perspectives and reinforce them rather than actively trying to disprove in the quest for whatever truth may or may not be beneath them.
"Most of our so-called research and reasoning consists merely of finding arguments to go on believing as we already do." - James Harvey Robinson
If we can overcome this tendency to shelter ourselves for the sake of identity, validation of our own perspectives, comfort, tribalism or any other relevant factor, we might be on the right path towards a world where more people are... let's say... philosophically guided to at least know what they're talking about, and to stay inquisitive when they don't.
I really did enjoy this read. Looking forward to checking out more of your writing.
