An Essay on Societal Conflict

I find it interesting that so few people recognize that any system that is put into place - any political system, economic system, religious system, education system or any other system - is simply a different flavor of indoctrination. The system that is put into place becomes the instruction that gets downloaded into our children’s brains as their brains develop. This is indoctrination. It is an academic label, not a moral label. Let’s call it what it is and not get our feelings hurt over it. We should not argue over whether or not the “other groups” indoctrinate. All of us indoctrinate. Hopefully we each do it with the best of intentions. I believe that most “groups” do teach their children with the best of intentions, even though it may appear otherwise to different “groups”. We all teach our kids. Sometimes, we identify a conflict in things we teach to our groups (our belief systems) and we somehow translate it into something much more sinister in our minds - mostly because we believe “we are right” and “they are wrong”. Somehow we believe that systems that we were randomly born into are the “good” systems and the other systems that other people were randomly born into are “evil” - go figure, we were also indoctrinated, just like those other people were. Just like our kids will be and just like their kids will be. We were taught things that conflict with each other based on where and when we were born. To make progress in this world and as a species, we must begin to understand that we should not be debating whether or not “they are indoctrinating” and we should not be defending our own righteousness over someone else’s - however, we are absolutely debating which beliefs we feel are most appropriate for our children to be indoctrinated with and we should understand that people within a society and between different societies will disagree on these types of life-altering decisions.

This simple understanding serves as the pivot from destructive conflict to constructive conflict.

We must change the context away from good vs evil and towards the understanding that difficult decisions have to be made in a society and that we don’t always get our way but it is worth fighting for within moral and ethical limits, which should be defined very generously and compassionately, not self-centerdly. All said, very serious and important conflict is an inextricable part of society - so much so that society likely cannot exist without it - and that the understanding alone of the ever-present reality of pervasive indoctrination (and its influence on our own lives, then and now) allows us to psychologically and emotionally pivot from carrying out destructive acts to offering constructive acts. It materializes, out of thin air, the opportunity for love and trust, in that order. Note these both can be present alongside, and without conflict with, assertive accountability and checks and balances.

We are, largely, who we were born to be. We are, often, a living manifestation of a social identity and indoctrination. And the same can be said for any other person of any other group. “We’re not so different, you and I” is a saying that has been overused in movies and more. On reflection, however, is becomes truer and truer as our understanding grows. When you see that person as yourself, as a child born into a family and into a world that taught him or her the ways of life, you begin to understand how our differences are, in fact, our common ground. This ability to see this truth and to see others as ourselves is the pivot point. It is the immediate creation, out of nowhere, for the opportunity for love and trust. While it does not change the fact that difficult decisions must and will be debated and made, it does shift the context from destructive to constructive, from hateful to compassionate, and there is significant value in that.