Hi Aaron,

Thanks for your article! I enjoyed reading it.

I do, however, disagree with you on several points.

Your perspective assumes that what you already believe is correct, and that you have all the answers. By focusing on people who agree with you or who lack enough knowledge or wisdom to challenge your perspectives, you are simply living in an echo-chamber. We need to talk to people who disagree with us to see the errors in our thinking, as well as to hammer out the details of our perspectives.

Yes, you might gain more supporters by seeking out young, impressionable people to pull onto your “side”, but now you’re treating Democracy like a game. If your aim is to pull as many people onto your “side” as possible, it’s easy to forget that what is more important is to seek the truth and what’s right.

I get it, many of us are frustrated with the direction the world is moving in. But, in our panic to avert disaster we try ever harder to push our ideas about how to fix what’s ailing us onto others. The problem is our confirmation bias — all of us are just seeking to confirm what we already believe to be true. This is why it’s so important to consciously chose to listen — to really listen — to what other people have to say.

If we don’t confront our bias with humility, we will continue to seek the validation of our views rather than the truth, and we will be just as much a part of the problem as everyone else.