Editor’s note: We’re looking for a variety of young voices to contribute to “Hits Different.” If you’d like to write a commentary, send it to Area Editor Jason Hennington at jason.hennington@ granitemediapartners. com.
In today’s society, it seems all we care about is being heard. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but when all we’re doing is pressuring people to listen to us, to our opinions and to our beliefs, the world seems a little less welcoming.
Most of the time, we’re just spitting out all our ideas without ever hearing anyone else. If only we would just take a moment to listen to each other and hear what the other has to say, with the intent to understand, then perhaps there wouldn’t be so much hate.
All across the internet and social-media platforms, there are millions of people sharing their ideas through videos, pictures, posts, etc. However, sometimes when airing these viewpoints, the opposing side may express hostility or even hate. People often see or hear only what they want to see or hear.
They tend to categorize the dissenters as bad just because folks on the opposite side of the aisle hold a different opinion on an issue.
If we would just take a moment to consider whether what we are saying is going to tear someone down, or try to listen to the other side instead, we could learn that some of what we only hear, or learn, from the internet is often taken out of context.
For example, if someone created a video or podcast talking about a controversial subject, the opposing side could take snippets and edit those segments to make it seem like the person is saying something he or she isn’t, or uttering words that are completely out of context.
However, if the viewer had listened and watched the whole thing, he or she would realize that isn’t what the speaker meant at all. It really depends on whether you listen to people. We never learn anything by ignoring everyone else and paying attention only to the people who agree with us.
We must learn to listen to the other side, to understand why we don’t agree with them, or maybe learn the other side isn’t all that bad as the social networks make them out to be.
Downgrading each other just to get our point across is wrong.
It doesn’t take much to stop for a moment, listen to the other person and give yourself a chance to get to know them and their beliefs.
If all of us did that, we might learn that others’ opinions don’t necessarily define them.
We don’t have to hate the other side. We are all human with the freedom to express our thoughts and opinions, and we should not have to feel the need to bring each other down just to be heard.
All it takes is a small moment of listening to one another and the intent to learn from each other. Your voice can still be heard without drowning out the others.
