Inaction is still an action

We live in our bubbles. There's really no denying it. I'm a very confrontational person, so I thrive on hashing our disagreements in a single moment as much as I can. And most of the time, I find that I'm alone in this. Most people prefer being in a state of flux, not drawing the line in the sand because that ironically fixes their position. And that state of flux more often than not, involves leaving things be, letting things take care of itself, and not doing anything on a personal level.

I absolutely detest that. Because I find it a very selfish act. The community as a whole, which sometimes can just be 2 people, do not move forward as a result of a conflict that has no confrontation and by extension, no resolution. I do not believe inaction is the right course in most causes as a result.

Above is one of the difficult philosophical questions, the trolley problem. A train is going along this train track with no brakes, on course to hit 5 people tied down. You, as an individual, can pull this lever to shift the train to another course, which has only a single person. Do you pull the lever? The train has nothing to do with you; you're not responsible for tying people down or removing the brakes on the train. You are just a bystander. But do you let 5 people die when you had the chance to do something about it.

Then what if you pull? Do you cause this innocent man to die who would otherwise have walked away harmless?

For me, I will always pull. Because if I can do something, doing nothing then becomes a choice. And doing nothing can have consequences.

In the USA, Trump was recently voted in to be the next president. As horrendous as that sounds, it does not sound as bad as the next sentence I'm going to type. 42% of eligible American voters didn't vote. In other words, about 70% of Americans were responsible for putting a man like that in the highest office in the land. No matter how messed up the system is, no matter how inconsequential you think your vote is, make a choice. The vote represents your voice in the nation. People who do not take part in the process do not have the right to complain about the president or any other federal decisions he made because they have forfeited their voice. The indecision has just as much a cost as any other decision.


http://www.cc.com/video-clips/m9ds7s/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-exclusive---tomi-lahren-extended-interview?xrs=synd_FBPAGE_20161201_692299924_The+Daily+Show_Video+with+Link&linkId=31796489

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY9xGRZjUUI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyFzhjk0n4Q

In a debate or a discussion, we often fall into the trap of only hearing what we want to hear; more specifically, giving a free pass to people we agree with . Listen, I'm glad people are scrutinizing each others' arguments, I genuinely, truly am. But what I find unforgivable is the inability to pass that same depth of judgement onto themselves and the people they agree with.

Hopefully, I will have attached 2 different "sides" which react to the same 30min interview and notice that when they are defending, they often overwhelmingly and passionately cheer on when their side presents a correct point and only barely, superficially talk about their incorrect points, while doing the exact opposite for their opponent.

Here's the thing, I'm a consumer, this 30min interview gives me about maybe an hour of fun really digesting and thinking the points over in my head, but this rightfully belongs in the category of things I care about. Imagine if I don't care about this news in particular. I'm not going around to 2 different sides to collect information and finally make my own judgement. It's neither viable or acceptable to do so for news of actual facts.

I have my own opinions about both parties in this interview. It took a long time. I can't imagine doing the same for every issue of the day and I do not want to. Trust in information sources like the media is at an all-time low and we are retreating into our bubbles. This is a problem.