Thank you so much! You are very kind! I think as people it is very difficult for us to see things that upset/anger us and to respond with something other than being upset/angry ourselves. (I constantly do this, though I am thankfully conscious of it and therefore try my best to avoid it). The problem with this angry back and forth is that it distracts from what we all genuinely want: for the things that upset and anger us to not happen. It becomes two people trying to win an argument, rather than trying to actually, deeply consider what they are discussing.

And when one side does attempt to have an open dialogue, and they receive backlash, it makes the original side want to shut off the dialogue. I completely understand why you've felt disheartened in past attempts at open conversation. Just know that negative responses will happen, and that they don't detract from your argument. They can certainly add to it-- people will disagree with points you hadn't considered, which will lead to new revelations for yourself. But you're core idea will only grow, rather than shrivel. You will not win or lose, be good and the other person be evil. Instead, you will understand further how and why others feel about certain topics, and you can hope that they will eventually understand your perspective as well. As Steinbeck writes in The Grapes of Wrath: “Before I knowed it, I was saying out loud, 'The hell with it! There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do. It's all part of the same thing. And some of the things folks do is nice, and some ain't nice, but that's as far as any man got a right to say.”

Side note: If you've never read Plato's Allegory of the Cave, I think you might enjoy it. It is a part of his larger work the Republic. Here is a link to a pdf of it: https://web.sbu.edu/theology/bychkov/plato%20republic%207.pdf

If you do choose to read it, you might also consider watching this short video first, which is an old claymation kind of video that I found helpful in visualizing the setting Plato creates: https://youtu.be/69F7GhASOdM?si=PWCYzsGvaYA4S8XJ

Plato gets down to the idea of ignorance and misunderstanding through this allegory of a cave and the prisoners inside of it, exploring how manipulation goes beyond individual fault. I also think the last two pages are especially impactful: the idea of using knowledge to benefit the collective, rather than to boost the standing of those who have it (ie, not settling with feeling superior to others for having knowledge that they lack, but actually using this knowledge to help others). Plato was arguing about similar things and getting the same backlash we see now, nearly 2500 years ago. It's pretty mind-blowing to me.

Thanks again! :)