Opinions & Identities
You own an opinion, but an identity owns you. That’s a serious difference, and we need to be aware of it.
This has always been true, of course, but over the past decade or two identity has been farmed and monetized, with nary a concern about psychological damage.
So, if you happen to think something is a good idea, even a great idea, that’s fine. But when you accept an ism as what you are, or anything like that, you’ve crossed a damaging line... you’ve allowed an opinion to be installed where it has no right to be.
In the commercial realm this operates under the name of engagement. All the “free account” people need your engagement to make money, and they close their eyes to whatever damage may accrue to you in the process.
Once others saw the free account people getting rich, they mimicked the process, hoping to get rich themselves. Most of these people don’t really understand that they’re inflicting damage, but that doesn’t change the situation: Gaining engagement is very much like gaining identity, and in the end engagement owns part of you; your mental routines become habituated to the service of others.
Don’t allow others to seize your cognition; it’s yours alone, and you must protect it.
So true. It makes me wonder this. I tend to label you as a libertarian, a cryptocurrency advocate, and a rational Christian. So that's in my head. Do you label yourself something that corresponds to my labels, or do you try very hard to avoid labeling yourself at all (assuming identities)?
One thing I label myself as is something like a spirituality explorer and speculator. I admit I assume that identity and don't really see how not to since I like being that way. Of course this is no one else's identity designation that they try to force on me or others for motives such as making money or building a movement. It's a self-assumed identity (though I don't feel like I have much choice in that I find myself interested in pursuing ideas of a certain type and would really miss doing it if I stopped. Plus hard as I try, I can't get myself to feel very certain of anything spiritual or anything else for that matter. I have opinions and leanings, but I am very unsure that just because I feel something or think something, it is therefore true).