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65
"People have been so encouraged by society to focus on apparent differences that they fail to see meaningful similarities among ideas, individuals, and groups."
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9:07
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"All men, all minds." This old saying reflects the inevitable differences of ideas. Individuals and groups keep conflicting with each other on one issue or another. In the endless and ceaseless controversies, however, we can find similarities shared by the debaters. And usually from these similarities come new and more valuable ideas, whether in sciences or in politics.
The history of sciences is actually a history of controversies. A good case in point is the debate between two theories about the nature of light. One theory, derived from the traditional and mechanical view of matters, assumed that light travels in the same way as does a ball. The other theory, in contrast, believed that light behaves just like sound. Later, a new theory settled the debate by reconciling the two, although seeming oil and vinegar, and concluded that light moves in a statistic- probability manner that caused the paradoxical phenomena.
In the politic realm, leaders also discover solutions on controversial issues by seeking out the similarities behind the words of opposite views. For example, shortly after Franklin Roosevelt became President of USA, he encountered the worst economy crisis in the history. Experiences about foregoing crises offered no effective solution, since governments were believed to keep away from economy or at most just promote free competition in every market (with one sole exception concerning national defense). Social infrastructures, such as railways, were in the list of free markets. However, in the crisis many private companies failed to survive, let alone to sustain the economy of the capitalistic countries. Governments had to do something, but the only example then was Communistic planned economy in USSR (the most opponent of USA) simply controlling the economy of the whole country strictly. Roosevelt reconciled the two conflicting ways successfully into a limited participation of government in economy restoration, including construction of infrastructures sponsored by the government.
In fact, no matter what field they are in, successful people usually consciously or unconsciously look for similarities among diversity. The reason is understandable: if there is one solution to a problem, it must rest on the ground that is least accessible to attacks. Furthermore, similarity usually is the best path to truth, for opposite views would not have share it otherwise.
Unfortunately, in modern societies, mass media and politics have found it best way to win audience: playing farces of meaningless quarrels appealing emotion rather than reason. As a result, people have been so impressed and thus encouraged by the ostensible resolution that they often see the differences between ideas and are reluctant to reconcile. Thereby, debates leading to no constructive agreement can be seen everywhere and just help people no more than to kill time.
Any one who want to succeed, in whatever region, must learn to wisely discover the similarities among appearing different ideas and strive for new ones. In modern time, this ability, or wisdom, is especially precious under the irresponsible bombardment of showy resolution other than constructive reconciliation.
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10:28 |
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