I'm sorry but if you don't agree with me, then you're just wrong and I feel bad for you

I was reading something a friend had written this afternoon, and I was really shocked and offended by what it said. But I think what surprised and upset me the most was how much of myself I saw in this person's point of view.

I know that I have a very, what's the word...I guess definitive way I see the world, and when people either see it differently or have never given a second thought to something that I am interested in, I see only ignorance and perhaps a little selfishness on their part. I'm sure this can be seen on my views of religion, conservative politics, ideas on poverty, and the world in general. And I also recognize how very sarcastic I am and, while I like to make comments that are a mix of comedy and "truth", today made me aware how what I say might be perceived to others.

Take poverty issues for example. For me, I feel a strong responsibility to live in a way that allows me to give away as much as I can. I know that I will never buy a really expensive car and I am critical of those do. But looking at it from an expensive car owner's POV, I understand they work hard for their money and buying a nice car can be seen as a reward for this work and they deserve to spend their money as they wish. I know I've made some pretty scathing comments on what people choose to spend their money on, and while I still believe we should not be spending money on things like second homes, expensive cars, and luxurous trips, I've come to realize the problem needs to be addressed at the societal level and talk more about why material goods are so important in American culture, rather than attacking individual's decisions. (Hypocrisy note: my family has a vacation house on the Neuse River, we own three cars, and have lived in Australia...)

And responding to my previous posts about Africa, I also know that a lot of people do not know a lot about Africa and I shouldn't hold it against anyone. I should be excited to have this opportunity to share with other people all this cool stuff I'm going to be doing (and I am!) and not critcally judge poeple for not being very knowledgeable about the area.

And it's not like I know about everything that's going on the world either! For example, last summer I taught 8th grade history for BreakThrough Collaborative, and when I found out I was going to be teaching Iraqi history, I panicked for a second---I did't know anything about Iraqi history...even though America had been in Iraq for years and it had been on the news nightly. And thinking about places like Darfur, the Congo, Pakistan, and Lebanon, its embarrassing to admit how much I don't know about these places either.

Moral of the story: I am young and don't have all the answers to anthing. I am going to remind myself of this more often.