It is often easier to go along with the crowd than it is to stop and listen. Listening takes intentionality. It means carving out time and space to hear someone’s perspective. It means setting aside our desire to be heard so that we can truly understand someone else’s story. In our cultural moment, we are quick to “cancel” people who have different perspectives, beliefs, opinions, and backgrounds… When did we lose the ability to appreciate someone, even if we don’t hold all of the same perspectives? When did we decide that we can only be friends with people who think exactly like us? 

If we truly listen, show value to the stories of others, and seek to know the source of information… then I think the way we interact with others will shift and soften. It is easy to toss someone aside when we don’t know them… but once we’ve connected personally, heard someone’s story, and understand why they think, act, vote, believe, or live a certain way, we are less likely to throw our hands up and say, “Well I don’t know! I’ll just listen to the crowd.”