When you read this post, think Kevin Costner’s dad-character in 3 Days to Kill, listening to his teenage daughter’s “special” ringtone selected just for him: “I don’t care!” – and it’s shouted in that throaty, what I used to think was a demonic voice (from Iona’s song, I love it).
This suggestion for how you may approach the subject matter of this post might seem more apropos to teen angst and selfish rebellion than me – an introvert, trying to sift through mountains of cognitive rubbish; and giving up in exasperation.
But, here we are. I have a decidedly low tolerance for the opinions of others. There’s also no inkling in my body, mind, or spirit to revere other human beings, pointedly celebrities. I’ve never had heroes – because they’re human beings with flaws, just like you and me. I don’t get the reverence for these people.
I just don’t care.
This probably seems a bit ironic, given I’m writing this in the form of a blog post – expecting others (whom I purportedly don’t care about their opinions) to respond. However, if you think a bit deeper, you’ll see – (I hope), that I highly value the experiences of others (just, not their opinions) and in turn I hope others would value my experiences.
My opinions don’t matter either.
For example, I’d much prefer reading personal essays than follow someone on Twitter. I’m not sure I do social media well. I wonder sometimes if social media is simply too social, in the small talk sense, for an introverted personality. We’d rather get straight to the real stuff instead of wasting time on social foreplay.
Opinions are not truth, they’re perceptions about the truth which are framed in a point of view. Period. And, everybody has one, just like that appendage at the end of the colon, that expels waste (trying to keep this polite).
There are so many voices in our world, all clamoring for our minds, money, and attention. I know, when I get on the Internet to research something, I start out excited and hopeful – but end up disappointed, confused, and further askew at having tried to connect to a concept, cause, person, or organization – who aren’t, after digging deeper, what they were presented to be in their social media “trailer.”
Everybody from experts – and what a plethora of them exist on the planet, to “reality” stars or celebrities posing as experts (always in areas outside of acting) hand out advice on everything from child rearing to cooking, nutrition, wealth management, and fashion. And, they write books about their suppose-ed expertise – books, which ordinary people with just as valid experiences, buy.
I vote for more personal essays online – more people being real and sharing from their experience; and fewer experts, celebrities, or ordinary human beings, telling us their opinion.
I don’t care!