like minds
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
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Patients in a hospital (even on life support) can be comforted by familiar television programs. HGTV, tennis, golf, or whatever is watched at home can improve blood pressure and heart rate. Familiarity can alleviate stress. The same concept of wanting loved ones around us at times of worry and decision making.
A physician suggested, he likes to go to the Methodist church every Sunday to be surrounded by “like minds. It is comforting.” The same can be said of those who attend temples, synagogues, Sewing circles, and AA meetings. We form ourselves into groups of like minds because it strengthens us. Socializing is a good thing, a nurturing thing. Among like minds we find solace, reassurance, sympathy and good will.
Then someone has to give our social group a label. Labels separate and create mobs and gangs, conservatives and liberals, left and right, stress and high blood pressure. These labels can lead to discomfort and this discomfort can become hate and intolerance which in turn leads to wars that cause premature death.
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So while we are enjoying the company of like minds and learning from opposing view points, we need to be careful so that our innate desire to seek out like minds doesn’t lead us into blind opposition. Blind opposition is dangerous and gets people killed and countries bombed and religions hated. Television is entertaining and comforting and we tend to trust it. TV’s droning familiarity can be as comforting as being in a room full of like minds, on the other hand, it is a great source for blind opposition.
“…rather than search rationally for information that either confirms or disconfirms a particular belief, people actually seek out information that confirms what they already believe. In fact, for the most part people completely ignore contrary information. The study demonstrates voters’ ability to develop elaborate rationalizations based on faulty information.” Steven Hoffman, Ph.D.
