One of the things that will remain despite any lockdown, remote working, or any other constraint, is communication. When I studied Communication at Uni, the professor started his course by stating that it is impossible for humans to not communicate. He was of course referring to non-verbal cues we all exhibit prior to our verbal communication, but if this current environment has shown us anything, it has shown us that we as humans have an innate drive to communicate.
The trouble is, however, that the trend of our communication is regressing to opposing, polarizing views. You are either a democrat or a republican, you are either pro-gender or an inconsiderate human, and you are either pro-vaccination or a tinfoil hat conspiracy lover. But before we start adding to the noise of who is right and who is wrong (another example of devaluing communication), we should take a step back and acknowledge what is happening.
It seems to me that all of this springs from a place of fear. We fear the unknown impact of new government to rule us, we fear a loss of control over our world and our bodies, and we fear this dangerous, invisible disease that might kill us.
And our brains immediately kick in, trying to make sense of something new and alien to what we know. Part of this brain game means that your brain simplifies things in order to connect it to already existing concepts your brain knows and can control.
The trouble is, however, that the trend of our communication is regressing to opposing, polarizing views. You are either a democrat or a republican, you are either pro-gender or an inconsiderate human, and you are either pro-vaccination or a tinfoil hat conspiracy lover. But before we start adding to the noise of who is right and who is wrong (another example of devaluing communication), we should take a step back and acknowledge what is happening.
It seems to me that all of this springs from a place of fear. We fear the unknown impact of new government to rule us, we fear a loss of control over our world and our bodies, and we fear this dangerous, invisible disease that might kill us.
And our brains immediately kick in, trying to make sense of something new and alien to what we know. Part of this brain game means that your brain simplifies things in order to connect it to already existing concepts your brain knows and can control.
And here's the fascinating thing: by trying to create clarity in creating a 1 or 0 situation (either democrat or republican, etc.) we end up with the opposite result. Why? Because reality is never a 1 or a 0.
The reality is that there is a dynamic, changing line of opinion that reflects our actual, dynamic thinking. The reality is not either pro-gender or inconsiderate. People who don't get vaccinated are not 100% tinfoil crazy people that spit in the face of science. Just like people who do get vaccinated are not 100% lame sheep that take every word of the government on as impeccable truth.
But we are so fear induced, probed with anxiety instigators that our brain is in full survivor mode. Let's realize that we are all humans, trying to deal with the anxiety and fear of the unknown that's coming at us from all angles. And that your brain and my brain is desperately trying to keep us safe from the media carpet bombing of fear inducing messages.
So instead of screaming punchlines over each other enforcing this 1 vs 0 brain narrative, let's just accept that we all feel overwhelmed with uncertainty and anxiety about what is happening, and listen to learn instead of listening to react.