Every time in moments of crisis, you see people with muddled views, cognitive dissonance, and sometimes outright rejection of reality. They visibly lack the courage to state the obvious, and would frame statements that beat around the bush. They are too scared to offend, too unoriginal in speech, their words sound hollow, and their intentions feel disingenuous.
And I’m not including ideologically polarised individuals to this mix. They have absolute clarity for their position. They won’t leave their ideological camps for any reason, whatever reality may transpire. Any muddled speech or disingenuous position they display is purposeful. Some may hide themselves better than others, but their stance is almost always clear. They are always ready with defence of indefensible.
I’m not talking about fence sitters and ideological grifters. The ones who go with the flow, become what their surrounding people are or whatever the current cool thing is. The ones who take pride in their intellectual and moral superiority, jumping to pontificate in defence of some obscure cause. But what is the root of their outlook. What real world experience is basis of their thoughts. Because whenever something real happens, they usually don’t have a genuine reaction or something cohesive to say. Either they wait for someone from their circle to make a move, or go on a different tangent all together.
Not always but many a times, such people come from privileged backgrounds. People with highbrow accents, sometimes significant higher education as well. But it only reflects in the choice of their vocabulary rather than message. Education must equate with critical thought, but even their occasional display of critical thinking is disconnected from reality. They love moral grandstanding, but their inclination is more towards what sounds good rather than what is a real greater good.
What is the reason of this lack of objectivity? Are they actually ignorant due to living in a bubble? Is it because they fear being judged for a strong stand? Or the fault lies in the uncontextualised education they’ve got? Less privileged people often display a higher degree of clarity than highly privileged ones. They often rely on lived experience and can’t survive without clarity. But despite living in higher safety net, the elites look more afraid. Their cowardice converts into intellectual dishonesty. For the fear of being cast out, they become sellouts.
Think It Yourself 