Being Heard
It’s so crazy to be heard, I think so much of our torture as human being is NOT being heard.
-Billie Eilish
Imagine having a platform as huge as Billie Eilish. There would be pressures too abundant to name, people who don't listen at all and people who listen and take things too far or entirely out of context. There would be judgment, nothing would ever be good enough, and people who hate these days are very vocal, even violent, about it. All this happened to her at only 18 if I recall correctly. In the climate of current culture, where throwing people away like garbage if their socks don't match is the norm, the pressure must be nearly debilitating at times.
It isn't about liking her music or not liking it. It isn't even about liking how she dresses or what shade of green her hair is. It's more the fact that she recognizes the torture of not being heard, it denotes wisdom and it’s resonant with so many people these days who don't feel heard or like they matter.
The pressures of current culture on young people these days are unprecedented. Everything they say, everything they do, is recorded. Video, audio or both, nothing is sacred. This means they have to be that much more careful, seeing that some of them recognize the responsibility in that really toasts my icy little heart.
The judgment these days is mostly hypocritical and based on assumption, as the habit of people nowadays is to assume, not ask. A lot of the complaints the generations have against one another are like that.
While it’s true that most people are trained from birth to respect their elders, at least “my” generation was, I never did. If I'm being honest, it's not entirely my fault, I just wasn't around very many respectable adults. They didn't respect the kids, they didn't respect each other and they didn't respect themselves. I learned so much from them about my own self worth that I will be forever grateful to them. I credit myself with being able to figure that out at a young age but it came at a cost.
It seems an easy enough thing to do, treat one another with respect. What needs some patching up in current culture is the fact that the amount of people who don't respect themselves or think they are worthy of respect is ever growing.
Here's the thing, the person that decides that, is you. Figure out your own worth and you'll not only practice self respect but you'll stop giving out discounts to others.
One place to start is remembering how to listen, not just wait for your turn to talk. The breakdown in communication, ironically, has come evermore into the spotlight as the internet has made it possible to communicate with more people from all over the world in real-time. Often when I point out how productive communication has become almost absent in current culture, people are quick to point out the internet and how it’s opened doors to communication we’ve never had before.
Sure, that’s true, but somewhere, somehow, people have lost the plot. The internet is full of assumptive know-it-alls, another side-effect of the internet. As great as the internet is, it’s also created loads of problems, but they don’t have to be problems, it’s all in the user.
As a user of the internet, think about what you’re saying before you say it. Don’t assume, ask. Get the information before you post, know what you’re saying is THE truth, not simply YOUR truth, you get a lot further acknowledging there are other people and perspectives in the world besides just you and yours.
Information can seem contrary and is all too often misinterpreted, consider context and most of all, consider kindness. It’s easy to be an asshole, it’s more productive to be a thoughtful and productive communicator.