My experiences on the blogs have taught me that logical debates over ideologies can be like icebergs in that the facts and logic of why people align themselves with a given ideology is like the tip of the iceberg while what's below the surface consist of the personal reasons for doing so.
We should note that we are actually joining a group when we embrace an ideology close enough. We are joining those who hold to the same ideology and, most of all, we are joining the creators of a given ideology. And there are at least two reasons why people join groups: they join for gaining security and they join because doing so makes them feel significant. And again, all of this depends on how closely we embrace a given ideology. But when we embrace a given ideology close enough, then our identity is at least partially merged with that group. Its credentials or success can make us share in its prestige while challenges to or faults by can knock us down a peg or two.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that SOME people take disagreements with and challenges to their ideologies personally and thus give negative and even hateful responses in return. After all, by challenging the tenets of their ideologies, we are threatening their how important they feel. This applies specifically to those who are purists, who hold to one ideology in a field like politics, economics, or religion. It also applies to those who passionately embrace different identities like national identity or one's ethnicity.
On the other hand, the above applies less to those whose political, economic, or religious beliefs are hybrids created by multiple ideologies. It doesn't apply to those who understand that no ideology is omniscient nor is any identity group superior and deserve to rule over the other groups. And so it doesn't apply as much, if at all, to those whose economic beliefs combine the tenets from different ideologies, especially opposing ones like Capitalism and Marxism. Martin Luther King Jr. had suggested that at we try to merge the best parts of Capitalism and Communism because, according to him, Capitalism forgets that life is social while Communism forgets that life is individual. It also doesn't apply as much to those who can freely criticize whatever groups they identify with in mixed company.
We live in a highly divided nation where those belonging to different political or other ideological groups demonize their major counterpart or competitor. Right there we see the beginning of the iceberg mentality that so divides us. Whereas those of us who are so very loyal to our pet ideologies or identity groups look for significance by being associated with the right groups, we take challenges to our ideologies or identity groups personally because almost any admission of fault or error by those groups can result in a loss of prestige to those groups. And who challenges our sense of significance more than our major competitors.
So how can we use this insight to better communicate and possibly persuade those who disagree with us because they have so passionately embraced a given ideology or identity? Frankly, I don't know. I have not demonstrated neither the intelligence nor the patience to discuss ideological and identity issues outside of challenging people's logic and facts used. But this insight has helped me be more understanding of those who, because they feel their sense of significance threatened by whatever challenges I present, respond with personal insults when I disagree or challenge their ideas. Perhaps, some day I will figure out how to better apply this insight when discussing people's ideologies. But in the meantime, I will have to settle for learning to be more patient with those who respond to my challenges to their thinking with hostility.
Now the above will have a different meaning for unbelievers than for my fellow Christians. For part of being Christians is basing our significance on what God has mercifully done for us in Christ. Thus, the major part of our sense of significance is based not any political, economic, or other ideology or identity, it is based on God showing mercy on us through Christ.
So how do we Christians often respond to those who challenge our sacred cow ideologies and identities? We act as if the major part of our sense of significance comes from associating with those ideologies and identities. That occurs when we don't treat unbelievers as fellow sinners and or when we mistreat fellow believers who hold to different ideologies than we do. When we mistreat them because of that, we show that our sense of significance is more dependent on those ideologies or identities than on Christ and what He has done for us. And such is weaknesses of our faith.
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