Hi Bruce,
First of all....I don't know you, and may not recognize you if I see you in person. But I have followed you on this list. The email you've written is sad in tone, and I'd just like to offer an unconditional hug for the way things are with you right now. There is no self-pity in facing the fact that life can be very hard while battling depression and caring for another ill person at the same time. Second...I am not really sure if one needs to get out of one's bubble. What satisifies me, without hurting anyone else is, to me, a good way of living life. I have, indeed, decided to filter out some things...for example, I was trying all genres of music, until I decided that I would stick with what I like, and not try to like what gave me discomfort. We each have only one life...and to some extent, we like to have our thoughts shaped, and honed, by other points of view. But how far, and how long, we want to go is up to us. As Anno Domini and ill health catch up, I think one may want to keep the bubble intact! And since I already belong "in the bubble"...I really can't offer the name of anyone outside it. To me ,too, at 63, it's increasingly exhausting to try and get past prejudice, pre-conception and personal attacks to get at a different point of view. I am aware that I, too, probably have all these quirks and set-in-cement views. I do try to hear the other voices...but am not always successful. Can you hear the creak of old bones in what I've written? I do! The only point where I tend to diverge from other opinions here seems to be that I feel I must listen to "stupid" and "intotlerant" views as they seem to be gaining ground, and if they are, there are enough people thinking that way, that it matters. However...listening is one thing, and understanding is quite another. Deepa. On Thu, Jan 11, 2018 at 6:49 AM, Bruce A. Metcalf <bruce.metc...@figzu.com> wrote: > On Tue, Jan 9, 2018 at 1:44 PM Udhay Shankar N <ud...@pobox.com> wrote > about filter bubbles and such: > > I am aware, sometimes sharply aware, that I occupy just such a > filterbubble. I'm not happy about it, and it worries me. OTOH, the stupid > hurts so much! > > Much as I dislike Facebook, it brings me into contact with a broader range > of opinions than other fora. There's a lot of content there that comes from > outside my personal bubble. The challenge is that once I ban those who make > ad hominum attacks on others, there's not a lot left. Perhaps I need to > "friend" more people I fundamentally disagree with. > > This has been a particularly challenging year for an American who thinks. > I see many in our government making a bad decision when they have to choose > between Truth and Loyalty. And this includes some on "my" side of the > debates. It all has a very Orwellian stink to it. > > For that matter, it smells much like Nixon, who I remember clearly, even > without the upcoming feature film. > > The antidote to bubbles, according to many, is to engage constructively > with the opposition. I have found this difficult, as few of them are > willing to have a discussion, much less a debate. I also find that once > they claim unquestioning adherence to something that science or simple > observation shows is simply untrue, my enthusiasm drains from me like snow > from a hot tin roof. > > "Get involved" is another cry I hear, and while tempting, I'm turning 64 > tomorrow, my wife is needing steadily increasing amounts of care, and in > many way's I'm burned out. Not sure how much credit goes to my intermittent > depression and how much the depression is caused by all else. I aspire to > help make phone calls on election day to encourage participation, but I > notice I have yet to do so. > > So yes, it's mostly comfortable here in my bubble (and thank you all for > being inside it), but one can see what's going on outside without > understanding it (except as deviant psychology). No, I'm not saying that > those who disagree with me are crazy, though some are. It's that so many > simply do not respect reality, and I don't know how to handle people like > that, much less a society composed of them. > > But I'll keep reading here, as the foundational level of sanity and > abundant love are things I feel a deep need of at present. But if you know > someone on the outside who can endure a conversation, please give them my > email. > > Cheers, > / Bruce / > >
