The Idiocy Of Ideology
We are often victims of our own ideologies. At first, it seems we adopt an ideology, but over time it begins to consume us. Like a cancer that mutates within the body, the ideology we once chose gradually shapes us until little else remains. Many people go a step further: they turn their ideology into their identity. They fail to notice when that ideology stops serving their ethics and instead becomes the lens through which they see the world.
Over time, such people grow bitter toward anyone who doesn’t fit into their ideological framework. The inevitable result is hatred. Yet ideology is supposed to represent our ethics, and while core ethics remain relatively stable with age, our understanding of the world keeps evolving. Humans are meant to evolve. Evolution is the truest sign of progress and wisdom.
As you evolve, so does your understanding of the world, its people, and the incentives that drive them. This can put your ethics in direct conflict with your renewed wisdom. When that happens, it’s time to refine your ideology and adjust your worldview. But when ideology hardens into identity, accepting new wisdom becomes nearly impossible.
Ideologies are nothing more than condensed versions of your beliefs. That’s why they often appear benevolent at first, yet end up causing harm when taken to extremes, breeding hostility toward anyone who does not share them. If you hate someone merely because their ideology differs from yours, you are not being rational. Disagreement is natural; hatred is not, unless someone is an obvious criminal.
The true goal in life is to cultivate self-awareness, to notice the biases that seep into your ethics and eventually infect your identity. Always remember: humans are greater than the ideologies they choose.