Published in My Central Jersey
Don't always look for the negatives
It has been my personal experience that in every human being, there is the need to believe in the worst. This is especially true when it comes to other human beings.
I find it fascinating and sad at the same time. For example, we want to believe the worst of a neighbor or another person when we have never talked to him or her or know them on a personal level, so we ridicule them. This habit is prevalent in every small town in the U.S. and my hometown of Kenilworth, New Jersey is no exception.
We want to believe rumors or innuendos about a group of individuals, when we have never had discussions with them or met with them personally at all. This has happens to be the case with groups associated with libertarian and conservative causes.
This is especially true about political figures as well; even before they take to the microphone. The mainstream press wanted to believe in the worst about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, particularly the rumor about how her Down syndrome infant was not hers. We want to believe that those who have differences of viewpoint or opinion from our own are ugly, morally inferior, uneducated and narrow minded. Often, the direct opposite is true.
What is needed in this society, and what is surely lacking because of political correctness, I believe, is open-mindedness. It is unfortunate that those is charge of the culture — i.e. the press, entertainment, television, etc. — and those dominant in the community, do not practice that at all. We are left to believe the ugly and the abominable and because of this, we close our minds to humanity and to the human good.
ALEX PUGLIESE Kenilworth