The good ol' benefit of the doubt

I've probably posted about this before. It is something I just cannot wrap my brain around...

Why on Earth can human beings not understand that respect (and perhaps -gasp- love) is a commonality that we should and can share even in times of disagreement. Whether it be questions or opinions, matters of the heart, soul, mind, religion, education, race/ethnicity, or political ideologies, WHY can we not respect a decent conversation, an individual, and a thought that opposes our own? Please excuse this trite question: Who is more of a successor: the holistic communicator, the vocal recluse, or the communication dictator? Duh.

There is no doubt that each personality has certain strong feelings towards at least one concept/basis in their livelihoods. It is what I would consider "normal' to have a strong discretion(s) towards a particular matter or situation at some given point... But WHY, why, must we push, disrespect, and downgrade those who do not agree, do not fit our molds, and who show, verbalize, or even seem to not feel as we do? It would be matter-of-factly ignorant to think that everyone is going to fit into our own personal conceptual system. It would be factitious to assume that those worthy of dignity must only come from this small pool that we consider to fit a standard.

Do those who consider themselves "right" (whether it be morally, or politically, or what-have-you) FEEL that they have some sort of authority to make those decisions and stances? What makes one better than another? Cannot love and disagreement go together? The answer: Of course it can. We disagree with all of our family members, our friends, and any other persons who come into our lives at some point, whether we realize it or not, and yet in certain instances we attempt to find a compromise, attempt to listen, and agree to disagree..

Why does this stop at certain points and within certain cases that we deem fit? Shouldn't this be a universal idealism (except in extreme situations)? Perhaps that is the issue, maybe we find extremism in places we should not? What happened to the good ol' benefit of the doubt? Personally, I have learned more from those whom I disagree with than from any person(s) that I see eye-to-eye with.

Value respect, show respect, and give respect, and I'm pretty sure it'll come right back at cha'. Disrespect others, put down their mental systems, and hit hard below the belt, and you'll find yourself having a very sore spot yourself.

(I'm done) :)