Why do we exclude everything that contradicts what we define as right?

Question

When we decide that something is right and nothing else is acceptable, I'm talking about things where we can have differences. For example, I generally don't like romance novels; there are people who love these books and consume them a lot. Therefore, I don't talk, don't converse, and don't even try to understand why such a thing pleases that person, even if it might be good.

We don't like to be wrong about a taste we've defined as right and another as wrong. Like, I don't understand why liking to drink a lot of alcohol, beer, has to be considered normal. I don't like it because I saw my father destroying himself because of this addiction. So, I don't like to drink. I accept that my friends drink, but I don't like it.

Another example: Brazilian funk, which mostly talks about debauchery and ostentation. There are some that are good, but I don't like them and define them as bad, terrible. Then, I love samba, but there are people who hate it and find it tacky. Just as I don't understand their opinion about funk, they probably don't understand mine about samba.

Imagine spending your whole life believing in just one thing, being unchangeable in your ideas and tastes, never experiencing or understanding what is different from us.

This act of excluding everything that is contrary to our tastes and beliefs is something sad. We stop understanding and living life, the plurality of ideas, music, arts, and people. We stop living because of our egos, feeding that voice within us that says one thing is right and the rest is disposable.

W · Accepted Answer

I think I understand your point; at the same time though, can we really accept and consider everything?

To try sounds not only exhausting but also counterproductive. We'd spend all our time and energy thinking and rethinking our position on every little thing.

Don't get me wrong; having an open mind is great on so many levels, as is questioning ourselves.

I just don't think it's necessarily a sad/bad thing that we don't accept everything, and that we sit in our decided opinion on various subjects.

It definitely can be a problem when we're being narrow-minded, especially when we create echo chambers for ourselves on important topics. However, as with most things, it's all about balance.

Gabe · Answer

Tribalism. We're social creatures, so we do what we can to fit into our tribes, because the reality is that we're  discount chimps that are too inept to survive on our own.

Si · Answer

Because people don’t have the mental capacity to hold opposing views on every issue. In their defense, standing on shifting sands feels uneasy.

And never taking a stance on anything looks like a lack of confidence. So there’s no correct approach to this problem.

Why do we exclude everything that contradicts what we define as right?

Culture Community

Tribalism. We're social creatures, so we do what we can to fit into our tribes, because the reality is that we're discount chimps that are too inept to survive on our own.

Because people don’t have the mental capacity to hold opposing views on every issue. In their defense, standing on shifting sands feels uneasy. And never taking a stance on anything looks like a lack of confidence. So there’s no correct approach to this problem. (edited)

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