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Everyone is different

Everyone is different. Don't mix up that difference with good and bad, and superior and inferior. Whatever differences we may have, we are all equal. No distinction of rank for people. Idealistically speaking, I suppose so. But aren't we trying to have an honest discussion about reality now? Would you really say, for instance, that I, an adult, and a child who is still struggling with his arithmetic are equal? In terms of the amount of knowledge and experience, and then the amount of responsibility that can be taken, there are bound to be differences. However, such things shouldn't have anything to do with human values. My answer is the same. Human beings are all equal, but not the same. Instead of treating the child like an adult, or like a child, one must treat him or her like a human being. One interacts with the child with sincerity, as another human being just like oneself. Let's change the question. All people are equal. They're on the same level playing field

Some of this intuitive power and spontaneity

 An animal has the capacity to learn, but it largely relies on its instincts to connect to its surroundings and save itself from danger. Through instinct, it can act quickly and effectively. The human relies instead on thinking and rationality to understand its environment. But such thinking can be slow, and in its slowness can become ineffective. So much of our obsessive, internal thought process tends to disconnect us from the world. Intuitive powers at the mastery level are a mix of the instinctive and the rational, the conscious and the unconscious, the human and the animal. It is our way of making sudden and powerful connections to the environment, to feeling or thinking inside things.  As children we had some of this intuitive power and spontaneity, but it is generally drummed out of us by all of the information that overloads our minds over time. Masters return to this childlike state, their works displaying degrees of spontaneity and access to the unconscious, but at a much hig

Many people talk long and loud

 The many moderates who really want to understand the issues and the reasons on both sides of an issue are deprived of any rational way to decide what to do, because they cannot learn from uncivil tirades. They lose faith in both sides and in news sources that align with either side. Moreover, our government becomes less able to function. Why should I work with someone who calls me stupid and crazy? How could I know how to compromise with such disrespectful opponents? Because incivility has both costs and benefits, it is often hard to tell when it is justified overall. Insults are bound to remain popular for those who see their benefits as greater than their costs. Meanwhile, the rest of us will suffer those costs.  Partly by increasing antagonism, but also partly by silencing reasoning in ways that prevent us from overcoming our antagonisms. What is silenced is reason rather than people. Many people talk long and loud, but that does not mean that they communicate or exchange ideas. To