Although I have some more thoughts about the Hegseth thing, I want to finish with this idea I have been working toward ever so subtly.
Maybe the first thing is to point out that when I am writing about things that I think are important, I circle around it a lot and give a lot of examples. It's not that I don't say the point, but I try and give enough information that people will find the logic on their own.
Statistics should carry more weight than anecdotes, which can be deceiving. However, anecdotes can be what helps people incorporate how something works into their worldview.
With recent posts about perspective and how they can be different, I am getting toward something else that has been bothering me lately. This is about people finding something they think is great, being really excited, and this is what they are going to offer to everyone; you should be enthusiastic about it too.
I am specifically thinking of two people. One I actually believe is completely headed in the wrong direction. I have sympathy for how she got there, but she is wrong and really excited about it.
The other has a point, I think, but it is probably not as universal as she thinks it is.
Her situation is more to the point.
It is great that something helped you when you were struggling. It can feel like a miracle. If it helps additional people, that is also great.
We are all different.
Penicillin was a huge breakthrough and works well on a lot of things. Some people are allergic and some bacteria are resistant.
I hope Alexander Fleming doesn't take that personally.
We have different sources of support. We have experiences where some things resonate with us more than others. We process grief differently. We need different things at different times, where sometimes you really need to process something, but sometimes the immediate need is distraction.
Our differences can be rich and contribute to life's complex beauty, or we can get huffy about them.
Something that works for you might might not work for another person because they have a different background that blocks that channel. It might not work for them now, but maybe a few years down the road it will because they have had a chance to learn different things or get used to something.
It can even be that sometimes, when you describe your experience to someone, that it guides them to their own different understanding. Sharing can be good, but it still may not be THE ANSWER.
It struck me because it was a different aspect of pride.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1989/04/beware-of-pride?lang=eng
Normally when I think of pride, I focus on the "enmity" part, where there is hostility and competition. In terms of people enjoying their talents and blessings without begrudging anyone anything, I am all for that; that's not how I use the word pride.
In this case, it does start with enjoying and enthusiasm. While it is not obviously competitive -- at least at the start -- I suppose the problem is being so sure that this is THE ANSWER. That gives a sense of superiority, or at least a desire for recognition.
That could turn to hostility and resentment. I like to think having any sense of humor and being at all grounded would keep it from going that way. Maybe it is harder to stay grounded in this environment.
Previously I had worked out that the key to not giving into pride is to focus on loving more and building your affection for people. I still think that's a good overall policy, but I am not sure that it helps with this.
Except, if you really are working on loving people, you should be noticing that there are differences.
The next step may be realizing how those differences play out. Because of that, you may not always know best for them.
That doesn't have to take away anything from you.
Related posts:
https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2026/06/perspective-check.html
https://preparedspork.blogspot.com/2026/06/all-aboard-meal-train.html
