Quote of the Week...from Victor Hugo

I think, therefore I doubt.                               ---Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo was one of France's greatest writers, responsible for some of the most renowned books in history, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables, the latter of which I am getting close to finish reading.  He was a man of faith, yet he did not allow that to keep him from deep thinking and meditation on many things.  And as he wrote in the above quote, you cannot think without entertaining the possibility of doubt...

In order to properly pursue a topic or issue, it is necessary to move one's thoughts around on it to see it from different vantage points as well as consider the differing perspectives that others have on it, including an attempt to place oneself in other's shoes in order to empathetically understand their underlying motivations.  This requires doubt...or at least a temporary suspension of one's initial beliefs on the matter.  If I am going to look at different things going on in the news today like Trump's presidency, the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements, international conflicts and relations, gun regulation and violence, etcetera, it is not enough for me to simply indulge my prejudices on the topic and then search for media sources that only affirm them and give me talking points to spout out on social media or in the workplace or other venues.  I appreciate input from others on different issues; I would appreciate it more were they capable or willing to temporarily suspend their own passions and express how someone with a different perspective just might have a point or two as well.  Unfortunately, the world around me seems to filling up with "true believers" who see the concept of doubt...which can help lead to empathy and enlightenment...as a sign of weakness if not a betrayal of their belief systems.  They may believe that forcefully promoting their strong convictions by relying on spoon-fed details and contempt for those who dissent shows that they are "thinkers"...quite the contrary, they come across as close-minded and intellectually lazy.  Too bad...we could really use Victor Hugo's wisdom in our times...