There have been many recent events where people have strong opinions about who you should associate with, who you should be friends with, and or who you should be a fan of. Everything from Epstein, Kirk, Christ, or Buda. What do all of these have in common? There are strong fans of these individuals, and great opponents of each. At what point should you move closer to a person and at what point do you distance from them?
TLDR; In the simplest terms, if a person or ideology align with your personal views then continue to align with the person or group, but when your understanding of the person or group shift to the point where you can no longer support or align with them, then move way from that group.
Here is an example for you, the year is 1933 there is a public figure who stands to rebuild the country after years of war and struggle. This leader gains large amount of support with their promises to make the country economically healthy and restore the glory of the country. In a time where the Great Depression in the United States was evidence of economic turmoil and struggle, many people flock to follow this new revolutionary leader who brings with them hope for the future. Some of these changes seem to make things better but you are not aware of most of the behind the scenes changes that are going on but you do see improvement in the country. You decide to follow and support this new leader. At times you notice things dont quite seem right but you cant put your finger on it. This is where you can investigate and find more information or continue to enjoy the improvements going on in the country. After a couple of years war breaks out and this new leadership, to some seem great, while others keep telling you that this leader is not who they claim to be. All you see is the good that comes from this person.
Years after the war you find out that this leader you supported turned out to be Hitler and committed great atrocities. Were you wrong in your support of this leader? Simple answer is at the time, with what you knew, did you in good conscious support what you thought was good? If the answer is yes, I see no problem with your intent. If you think "I should have seen the signs" or "I knew something was off." Then that is something you will need to reconcile, I am not saying it is good or bad but it does mean you should figure out a way for you to question what is going on around you a little more instead of being blindly lead in directions you would have preferred not to go.
To put things in a simpler example. Your neighbor makes a killer steak that is awesome, and throws the best 4th of July calibration. This is the guy you would be happy to let them watch over your house and pets when you are out of town. Years later you find out that this neighbor is an aggressive internet predator. With what you knew he was a great person, with what you now know you wonder if that makes you a bad person. Again it comes down to, at the time with what you knew, did you know a good person or a bad person. Technically they were bad but the person you knew was good.
The key to both of these scenarios is, what do you know now? And how does what you know dictate how you should interact with the person? In a very mild example. You know someone who engages in Adult Entertainment. Does this change how you interact with them? For some people this means that they can no longer associate with the individual. For others it means you engage in the same activity, and others it means you both struggle in the same manner. How you view the opinion of society can influence your relationships with others but it also boils down to how you view yourself and your beliefs. You do not need to have a strong clear opinion of yourself and your core beliefs, you just need to know which way you wish to go and if certain viewpoints will help you with that journey.
Another example, Can a Republican and a Democrat be friends. Yes, or No...It really depends on your view of each stance and what they stand for. At the very least the other group can exist because they add contrast to your viewpoint. This is a good thing purely for the fact that they see things differently. Difference help move closer to what actually will be the best. What might be described as different might actually be the same. At a lot of businesses there are those annoying push/pull doors. You never know which what to use the door. On one side it is push only and the other is pull only. The only difference is which side of the door you are on.
Where one side may be in strong opposition to anything that relates to pushing, for the other side it might be only a push to achieve the desired result for both side. Because one group may hold a different value does not mean you are wrong, just that you have a different viewpoint or side of the door.
With all the recent polarizing opinions on topics, does it have to be one or the other? NO!
Know what you believe in
Know what you understand
It doesnt have to be hard right or left, you can be in the middle
Love the person, not the idea
Let me cover that last point, Love the person, not the idea. You are fully entitled to attack an idea, but when you start adding people in to the mix, love the people. People only carry the idea, and when you can convince them to leave the idea behind then they can help with your idea. More often than not, if you attack the person and not the idea, weird things happen. They cling to the idea tighter, they get their friends to support them (the person) and eventually many of them will join the idea. The best debates are between friends who hold opposing views who attack just the idea.
At the end of the day we are all human, trying to help. The ways we help differ and there are many opinions on how to do it. When you learn more about a person, idea, topic at that point you can choose to align more with the idea or to distance yourself from the embodiment of the topic. It is ok to be wrong, if you thought it was right.
Image Credit:
https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=criminal+face&asset_id=604000664
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFarSide/comments/1dkgly8/one_of_my_favorite_comics_of_all_time/
