Thinking: A Means of Avoiding Vagueness Hiding Shallowness

If we only speak with one person, we probably only hear one "truth." If we only talk to people who share our beliefs, we will never hear anything new. If we only get our news from sources whose biases match our own, we do not learn anything new; we merely add fuel to our ideological fire. If our belief "system" is primarily based on one document or book, an author or authors, philosophers, or social reformers - no matter how good their intentions - and whom we cannot question because they are long since parted from this world - then we should not be surprised when others are not so readily convinced of our viewpoints. Sometimes, we are more committed to showing others that we are "right" and not so much to "being" right and being human and humane. Shouting, sneering, smirking, rolling one's eyes, making an obscene gesture (either actually or metaphorically) is, for the most part, empty of substance and not helpful to anyone.