Convictions and Preferences

For the general population, everybody wants to be respected. Everybody wants to be heard. Everybody wants to know that their opinion is valued. Yet so often, many of us feels as though our words fall on deaf ears. When we want share something important and crucial, people treat it as just another opinion - which they so often dismiss. Some of us try to make jokes, make everybody happy, in hope that in the time of need somebody will take our views seriously.

This blog post will be about Convictions and Preferences - The roles they play in being heard

Conviction
2 a: the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth
b: the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth
3 a: a strong persuasion or belief
b: the state of being convinced

Preference
1 a: the act of preferring : the state of being preferred b:
the power or opportunity of choosing
2: one that is preferred

(Merriam Webster Online Dictionary)

Merriam Webster aside, I would simply say that values such as Truth, Love, Justice, Courage and all other noble values as conviction - I consider them non-debatable. Other things such as supporting Manchester United or Arsenal, the "lala" fashion which I quite dislike, choosing purple over blue - all these are preferences, it would not be immoral to choose one over the other. If we want to be heard, we need more convictions and less preference.

Consider a man with many preferences and little convictions:
He supports "whatever" football team. Every other day, he talks about how good "Whatever" is and how lousy the others are. He rants about the crazy Japanese "lala" fashion going around.

Or Consider those girl's friendster accounts
(Nothing personal, just examples):

I lyKe:
PinK
OxOx ChocOcS

Hatez:
BaCkStAbbErz
BiTchEs
gUyZ wHo SmoKeszzz

As we all grow up, we start to learn of more important things in life. How much can you make of a person who goes on everyday about their favourite colour, football team, and fashion? That person's daily conversation kills his reputation!

Consider this quote:

It is better to shut up and let people think we are stupid... than to open our mouths and confirm it

I certainly hope that we all become noble men who live adventurous lives, fights battles, champion causes. Yet if we do not live such a life, keeping quiet would do more good. How we wish sometimes "that" guy in class would just stop talking for a moment. Sometimes, oblivious to us, we are "that" guy. Some self check would be very helpful now.

Consider this:
Who are the people we admire, why?

Keep in mind, there will be people you mix well with due to common preferences ( e.g. same football team ), because they are just like you. People feel comfortable being around people who are like themselves.

Yet know this too, there will be people that you might not always spend time with, yet respect - this sort of admiration transcends preferences. There is something in their heart that burns so brightly, that you would want it very much. Wherever they go, they command respect ( not demand ) - and people willingly respect them for the best reasons. Not long after that, a special bond is created, much stronger than the bond of preference - because deep down in our hearts, there will always be a voice that tells us what really matters in life.

A summary of the illustrations above:
Our Convictions and Preferences tell people about our character. If we are all Preferences and no Convictions, we live a very shallow life indeed.
The people of this world is bored and tired with shallowness - they want the real thing. Sweets and candies are nice for a while, yet we can't live on those.
Preferences change over time: Fashion, Celebrities, etc. If our lives are full of preferences and we become popular because of that, as much as our preferences become our foundation - we will lose everything when the time is over.

Some among us happen to be funny people. We can make jokes out of nowhere. People like us. However, the ability to joke should also be a preference. As we grow up, the kind and the amount of jokes we enjoy would be different. We might sometimes intend good, yet our reputation is simply a funny guy. Again, being funny is like candy, a very tasty candy at that - but nevertheless, a candy.

Yet if there is one man who holds on to truth, it will be valuable all the time. People might laugh at such an idea considering the world we live in is so corrupted, yet almost every other person will deeply respect a man of integrity.

Remember the story about "The boy who cried wolf"?
Essentially, the story is about breaking trust to the extent nobody believes us anymore.

OR

We can also take it when we talk too much senseless things, nobody would want to hear us anymore when we talk sensibly.

Some of us talk too much unnecessary issues and care too little about things that ought to consume our attention. Then in the time of need, we find it that we are not used to speak the right words. People might try hard to listen to us, yet their mind echoes joker, joker, joker...

When we properly evaluate our lives and rearrange it - to view preferences in the right perspective and concentrate on things that really matter in life ( which would fall into the conviction category ), we will soon find our lives filled with much more meaning. Besides that, we would be welcomed at more places and have more friends since we have less prejudices (preferences such as race, language, age, etc.)