Beliefs

Recently I have been giving a lot of thoughts to people's beliefs. On one hand, I am very opposed to what beliefs can create. I mean historically, you can see the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Holocaust all terrible things caused by people with a belief system.Now of course, beliefs are what seem to be the cause of a huge push against my rights. At first it was easy to say that just some beliefs were bad, like when they cause harm to others, now I am not sure that's the case.

I have come to realize that people who don't share my beliefs EXASPERATE me. I am not just talking religious beliefs either. I mean top to bottom, if I have a strong belief in something, when someone has a different view, it is hard to deal with. I am also not trying to say that a difference of opinion is negative either. Opinions and ideas are one thing, beliefs... well that's entirely different.

Maybe beliefs have very little to do with anything. Maybe we simply create or chose our beliefs to match what we want to think or do. I mean often religious persecution was more about political power than actual faith. That would also explain why it is so hard to relate to people with VERY different beliefs. If we are creating them in an image of our thoughts and desires, it would almost be like the other person standing in the way of who you are.

I have been having a conversation with a good friend, and he mentioned that virtue was higher than value (very Aristotelian) because value, unlike virtue, was open to interpretation. I could see that at first, but I began to think that this might not even be able to be true. Why? Because even virtue is based upon belief. Is humility a virtue or a vice? Depends on your beliefs. I wonder how many people that believe humility is a virtue live in humility or have been victim of the negative side of pride. Many? I would put my money on it. And vice versa of course too, this is just an example. I think that most of us try and say that our beliefs make us who we are, but I think maybe that it is more who we are that makes our beliefs.

I apologize that there is no succinct point to this entry. I am just struggling, as I recently had a moment where I was surprised by my own vehemence towards a divergent belief. I am very open minded, so this shocking moment has made me think a lot. I think that this realm of thought is so ethereal that it will be hard to compress into a clear line, but perhaps this will be a start.