“We seldom learn much from someone with whom we agree.”
― Mokokoma Mokhonoana
Earlier today someone on a Facebook page on books that I follow posted a book that many felt was filled with hate. I’m not going to mention the book as my post isn’t about the actual book but the response it generated. Not one person said they had actually read the book.
A couple looked up a synopsis of the book but most based it on the cover or the author. Many posted they would never read the book.Earlier today someone on a Facebook page on books that I follow posted a book that many felt was filled with hate. I’m not going to mention the book as my post isn’t about the actual book but the response it generated. Not one person said they had actually read the book. A couple looked up a synopsis of the book but most based it on the cover or the author. Many posted they would never read the book. One stated the author was a hateful person. Yet this individual acknowledged they had never read anything the author had written or even heard them speak on the topic. Many wanted the post removed. Several even went so far as to say the individual who posted the book should also be removed from the group. Will I read the book? Probably not. It’s not a topic I’m interested in. But I have read many books where I don’t agree with the author or the topic. I’ve actually found doing so to be very educational.
I propose we should occasionally read a book on a topic or stance we don’t agree with or just read a book by an author from the “other” side. It’s very difficult to have a discussion on issues or ideas we disagree about unless you truly understand what the other believes or where they’re coming from. Today most “discussions” are no more than a completely emotional response rather than a logical argument or reasoning. Unfortunately we tend to only read books where we agree with the premise of the idea or the author themselves. Liberals read books from liberal writers but avoid conservative writers. Conservatives read books from conservative writers but avoid liberal writers. It think it’s well worth the time and effort to actually read books we disagree with occassionally.
REASONS TO READ BOOKS/AUTHORS YOU DISAGREE WITH
- You become more informed and educated on what they actually believe. It helps you to better understand the “other” side. It’s very helpful to walk in some elses shoes to truly understand where they are coming from. But you say their book just hate filled. Maybe if you actually read it you’ll understand more of where their “hate” comes from. Yes, you may find they’re just bat crazy or you could find they have an unmentioned fear that isn’t being addressed. Their “hate” is actually fear. If you know more about where they’re coming from, you can do a much better job of educating them. You may never end up agreeing but you can both learn to disagree in a more civil manner.
- You’re better able to defend or support your ideas. Rather than providing general, canned reasons why you believe what you believe, you’re able to provide reasons that directly address to their own reasons for not supporting it. You can defend your idea with more logical reasoning rather than emotion. This also helps you to better define what you actually believe.
- You may learn something new. By actually reading their thoughts, you may learn something you’ve never thought about or know. While this won’t necessarily change your opinion, it can help you be more understanding of theirs.
- It will improve your critical thinking skills. Critical thinking skills will make us all better citizens of this world. It helps us make better decisions and helps to improve our communication with others.
I’m sure you can come up with even more reasons why we should read those we disagree with. We should each take the time to occasionally read works by those we disagree with. It will help us have better conversations and to better understand one another. I’m not proposing ONLY reading those you disagree with but occasionally reading them. If we continue to live in our own little silos without making an effort to truly understand the other side, our world will continue to be an ugly place. We need to move past emotional responses or basing our comments on others opinions without fully developing our own. We need to take the time to truly learn how to walk in others shoes. Yes, this is a two way street but someone has got to start. Why not let it be us.
