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I tend to begin with the assumption that everyone has massive potential, but funnily, when people disagree with me on this, they nudge me towards a view in which some of us are exceptional - then those same people often find that view distasteful. Me too man, but you put me here
And, just riffing here, remember my original position: If you believe some people are exceptional & create disproportionate amounts of value, and you want to see great things in the world, then I think it follows that people should be allowed to *be* different
If you then think, oh, exceptional people will be exceptional no matter what, so I’m just going to be harsh and cruel towards all people - almost providing a sort of “forcing function” role in society - then ok, you can’t be mad when they hate on you. That’s the bargain you chose
And if you then think “I don’t care! Those ungrateful swines! I made them who they are! It’s my right to respond to their insolence!”, then ok, that’s also a choice you made. when you reach this stage, contempt has consumed you and you will not know love until you let it go
Alternatively you could be good to people, unconditionally respect their autonomy and freedom, earn their trust, love, respect and admiration, share in their joys and sorrows, and become a valuable member of society It’s surprising to me that this is a difficult choice for some
Circling back I think this reveals my frame: I think the broader “debate” about exceptionalism is really a discussion about how to allocate resources - things like school funding, sure - but I think more significantly, dignity & respect. Do weirdos deserve dignity? Discuss [25m]
And y’know I do think it’s profoundly perverse the way broader society tends to allocate dignity and respect. Sometimes it’s tempting to “break bad” or “go dark” because lots of people only respect power. Worship it, even. Pretty grotesque. Related to the Just World Fallacy https://t.co/q8RBeiQDn8
But the cool thing is that, while we operate in a world we do not control, we get to choose how we want to operate within the contexts that we *do* control. And I can attest first hand that doing this expands the circle https://t.co/XP9EbiWtND
the more interesting qn to ask, compared to "how do you compete with smarter people", is "how do you win the love, trust, support & goodwill of smarter people, so that THEY are on YOUR side" it's interesting how rarely anybody seems to ask this. i think about this all the time
Get in frens, we are expanding the bubble! Doesn’t matter if you’re “exceptional” or not. Only rule is you have to be kind https://t.co/nopAzPMhFG