#davesdailychallenge (146): The Cycle of Shallow Thought. I am still a young man at 35 years old but in that short time I have noticed a trend during our national discourse on topics that engender strong opinions. It seems as if we are losing the ability to think deeply about these topics and so many of us are only capable of staying at a shallow level where we are comfortable and understand the simplicity that stems from such shallow thought. I’ll give you an example. 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick recently refused to stand for the U.S. National Anthem citing reasons that revolved around racial oppression in the United States. At this point we start the aforementioned cycle of shallow thought. Some people loudly proclaim their support. Others loudly proclaim their opposition. The vast majority of those that support cite his message protesting racial oppression. The vast majority of those that oppose cite the manner in which he protested, not his first amendment rights or the message itself. At this point there is little display of empathy, which is the ability to see a situation through someone else’s point of view. There is little discussion, almost none on mass media outlets, of the details of Mr. Kaepernick’s message, his personal background, and why he is doing what he’s doing. There is also very little discussion from those that support this protest on the points of the opposition. They don’t want to engage on points that don’t fit a particular mold. As you can see at this point, the quality of the conversation is low. Thought is shallow at best. In certain circumstances it is non-existent. One side entrenches, which causes the other to do the same. We become “black and white” thinkers with no appreciation for shades of grey. We align into red states and blue states, democrats and republicans, and haves and have-nots. All the while our national discourse takes one more step down the ladder of effectiveness. People loudly proclaim how offended they are on Twitter. No one wants to admit that maybe a given person’s message has merit regardless of whether or not they agree with everything they’re saying or how they’re saying it. As I’m sure you have started to realize, this isn’t just applicable to the example given. It pervades nearly every aspect of our modern culture. I have seen so many leaders not do the right thing because shallow thought keeps them from seeing the bigger picture. I see mothers and fathers loudly proclaim for all to hear on facebook how their parenting style is better and anyone else who doesn’t follow their method is wrong. There is no easy solution here. There really isn’t. As far as I can see it will take a widespread growth in empathy, humility, and a unification, not separation, of what the American ethos truly is. I wrote recently about how we, as Americans, are not the descendants of fearful people. We must prove this courage in the way we speak to one another and how we engage in important matters on a national stage. The more we fall victim to the cycle of shallow thought the more we will view others as the enemy. We will be less likely to want to work together to actually fix the problems that this nation faces and that must stop. No one has the right to take away your ability to think freely so stop allowing yourself to be manipulated by those that would. Challenge our leaders on whatever stage you have access to and hold them, and yourself, to a higher standard. We must break out of this cycle and it’s up to us. Thanks for reading.