Strong Opinions

Greetings Steemian's,

I've been thinking about this topic quite a bit lately, and the reason for this is due to opinions I see so regularly on the blockchain.

Pixabay

Before I begin, I'll say that I'm not minimizing anyone's opinion. In fact, I'm a proponent of free speech. It's arguable that there are limitations to free speech, and I'm a bit on the fence about this one, but I do draw certain lines, and feel that if an opinion is strongly opposed by the collective mind, then it's not appropriate. Some will argue this all day long, and I don't have the greatest debate to present, but if voicing your opinion is strongly hurting someone else, or a group of people, then perhaps this is something to look at on a personal level.

Hate speech, and extremist agendas generally are laden with ill intention, and come from a very rigid "I'm right and your wrong" perspective, so this is where the whole debate on free speech gets a little rough. Information is information, it is only our perception/belief systems which determines the merit for information being agreeable or disagreeable, and for speech to truly be "free" then it must include the aspects of which so many consider dark or it is not truly free speech. This to me, is hardly arguable.

Politics, not really my cup of tea, I have some opinions about politics in general terms. We'll save that for another post.

The intention of this post, isn't to talk about the merit of people's opinions, but rather, the psychology surrounding compartmentalized opinions.

Compartmentalized opinions, is that even a thing? I'm not a psychologist, so I can't say for certain that it is, but to me it's a thing. I'll explain, but first let's define what compartmentalization is:

Compartmentalization is a subconscious psychological defense mechanism used to avoid cognitive dissonance, or the mental discomfort and anxiety caused by a person's having conflicting values, cognitions, emotions, beliefs, etc. within themselves. Wikipedia.

What is cognitive dissonance?

In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort (psychological stress) experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. This discomfort is triggered by a situation in which a person’s belief clashes with new evidence perceived by the person. When confronted with facts that contradict beliefs, ideals, and values, people will try to find a way to resolve the contradiction to reduce their discomfort Wikipedia.

Ahhh now we're painting a picture. Does anyone think of trauma when they connect these dots?

I've made a certain correlation to strong opinions, and oftentimes, there is some trauma rooted in persons who've experienced situations lacking control, which were traumatic for them.

I've also correlated some obsessive compulsive disorder to this as well, but I don't want to take this in too many directions. We're going to keep it as simple as possible, and explore the psychology of the dedicated Steemian with strong opinions, and why this might be the case.

There is a fine line between dedication and obsession. I myself, admittedly, have the propensity to become obsessed with things, ideas, and even people. I recognize this in myself, and guess what it tells me???

That it's a defense mechanism in my brain to avoid confronting a dysfunction within myself. Dysfunction is kind of subjective though, more or less what is happening is the mind says "this is too much, let's focus on something else", as to not confront working on healing past trauma. This I recognize to happen on a subconscious level.

Am I alone here? Not at all, in fact, I think there are many of us on the platform that become obsessed with Steem and call it dedication, simply because it's a good way to avoid other things in our life.

Am I resonating with anyone?

So let's talk about the opinion of:

What you must do to be a good dedicated Steemian

Let's not pretend there isn't some strong opinions surrounding this topic, and let's not pretend that it isn't an opinion! #factsallday 😄

So, I see statements like.

• "They just don't understand the intrinsic value, if they did, they would post twice a day."

• "They don't understand how important engagement is, why do they make posts but never engage with the community?"

• "They'll see, when we make it, they will regret not taking this seriously."

• "They are not committed, they do not have discipline, they should pay attention to what successful people here are doing."

Compartmentalization?

I could keep going, but you get the gist if you're still reading.

I'm sorry to say, but when you are pointing at others, there are three fingers pointing back at yourself.

This is what I really hear:

You are wrong because you do not agree with me.

And I'll show you...

So validate me!

I'm not saying it's a cry for attention, not at all. I see it as avoidance at a deep level. This is only one facet of course, and I'm using the "good Steemian" scenario because it's something most can relate to here, and frankly, because it bothers me a little. (and why is that futuremind? lol)

It bothers me because I have an opinion about opinions!

We have a crude saying where I'm from, and maybe it's something said all over the world, I do not know, but you'll hear it in America all the time.

"Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, and they all stink."

That is a little crude indeed, and kind of a dismissive way to say "fuck your opinion."

But to think about it, our human experience is comprised of series of events which mold our perception about everything and everyone, and how I perceive the world today, will not be how I perceive it tomorrow, even if I am unable to recognize it, I cannot argue that I've experienced something new, every single day I am here, so invariably, this changes my perception. If that is debatable to anyone, I respect your opinion.

• Who am I to say what another person should derive value from?

• Why should I look down on another person because they don't post twice a day every single day? (I sure don't, and it doesn't bother me a single bit, because I value the other things I do with my time here as well!)

• Why should I think a person is not dedicated to Steem because they power down their rewards for personal expenditures? How's that any different than being paid for your job and utilizing your funds as a consumer? Am I bad because I don't want to allocate funds to the company that employs me? (invested or earned, idea is similar.)

• Why should I look down on someone for only playing games on the blockchain, and not blogging? Do they not add value to our economy too?

These are some rhetorical questions , but to me they are valid. Steem is not an engine that drives the worlds economy, (not yet 😋) and just because something doesn't taste good to you, doesn't mean it doesn't taste good to me.

Here is my message regarding the strong opinions about what others should be doing with their time on the blockchain.

Don't worry about it!

That person you are judging might be starving and have bigger issues to worry about, that person you are judging might not be as intelligent as you and understand the dynamics, that person you are judging might be here to have fun, and not view it as a financial thing or job.

That person you are judging might be yourself.

Good day Steemian's, keep it real, keep it beautiful, and love your neighbor.

Much love,
@futuremind

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