But people aren’t that simple. You can’t reduce a human being to one ideological checkbox. We’re made of contradictions, history, pain, and context. We evolve. We change.

Labels simplify reality, but reality isn’t simple. There are all kinds of different people holding multiple different views. You have people defending free markets but also wanting social welfare. You have atheists who find moral beauty in some religions. You have trans people who are against abortion, yeah, you read that right. There are a multitude of ideas.

If you reduce people to a single label, you kill the complexity that makes them interesting. And that’s where everything begins to rot.

A common pattern in current political “debates” is the vilification of the person holding opposing views. Sometimes it leads to a hate so extreme that it completely erases the humanity of the opponent.

Then, there is no longer “I don’t agree with you.” Instead, it becomes “I hate you and everything you touch or represent.” And from that moment on, no rational thinking takes place.

It’s not even about ideas anymore. It’s about tribes. People defend opinions not because they’ve thought deeply about them but because their “side” does. The conversation becomes a competition of moral virtue, and whoever shows more outrage wins.

The result? No one learns anything. Everyone just yells louder.

A challenge we all have is "separating the art from the artist". Take Elon Musk, a guy who is a lightning rod nowadays. Do you hate SpaceX because of him? Or Tesla?

Let’s make a thought experiment. Imagine Elon does not exist. Forget about him. Now think about SpaceX and Tesla. Their mission, what they are doing, and what they have done in the past. Do you still hate these companies? Tesla mission is “to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.” Isn’t that something good? SpaceX wants to make humanity a multi-planetary species. Most people I talk to from any side of the political spectrum agree with both missions. Now, if you still hate these companies, ask yourself, do you hate the companies and all the people that work in them, or do you simply hate Elon? Most moderate folks I talk to that don’t like the guy at least say to me that all the merit goes to the engineers in those companies, and for that, I couldn’t agree more.

Some people say everything is political, which I disagree with. Is drinking a cup of water because your thirsty a political act? Commerce, infrastructure, and science must transcend ideology to function.

The ones who are more eager to label you usually are the most extremist. So much is talked about far-right, but there is also far-left. Both of them want a simple way to determine if you are an ally or an enemy, and many of them want 100% alignment. That is how they see the world, it seems. Like, holy shit, man, just chill out.

Society is built around the concept that millions of people who disagree with each other cooperate in order for everyone to survive. If you don’t want to use a product from a company you think is “evil”, fine. Your money and your choice. But if you analyze every single company/person and buy things only from those who align with your views, then you’ll live as a hermit in the mountains. The rice you’re eating, are you sure the farmer wasn’t a “nazi”? The mashed potatoes, what if these potatoes were cultivated by a trans man? The same concept applies to every single product and service and you cannot change that.

So basically, you could be financing the very people you hate without knowing. Let’s get some examples of hypocrisy that hopefully make you think about it.

Most people on the right love their freedom of speech, but once it is not validating their beliefs, they want to do something about it. Recently, Trump is deporting immigrants who are cheering Charlie Kirk’s death. Basically, he is going against the freedom of speech of these people. I know cheering on someone’s death is a testament to how low we have fallen as a society, but still, it is their freedom to speak that they are happy with that awful event. The only exception to freedom of speech is a direct call to violence, at least in the US.

Another example, many people were outraged in the Guillermo Rauch photo with the prime minister of Israel, but they’re fine with Google and Microsoft, even though these companies are supposedly directly involved in the genocide of Palestinian people, given the fact that they provide cloud infrastructure for the Israeli military (search for Project Sirius and Project Nimbus).

Since we talked about Palestine, isn’t it curious that people who fiercely defend LGBT+ rights choose to defend a movement that wants their own death and do not share their values in the slightest? I mean, these same people would be beheaded if they were in Palestine, by Hamas, while at the same time, Israel is a very progressive state with LGBT+ rights and so on.

The contrary should also be scrutinised, why do people on the right defend Israel so fiercely, totally ignoring all the human rights violations and the accusations of genocide recognized by the UN? You see, this conflict is far more complex, and people want to simplify it in a way that it looks like you have to decide between two soccer clubs. No, people are dying there, the amount of human suffering is staggering.

One last example, isn’t it curious that lots of Christians love guns so much? Also, why do lots of them hate gay/trans people so much? If you read the gospels, Jesus loved everyone, and his teachings are all about immeasurable love and empathy: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, “if someone slaps you in the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also”, "forgive others, and you too will be forgiven", "do not judge, or you too will be judged". There are plenty of other examples, but these people do not seem to care at all. Doesn't it seem they live in contradiction with what they believe?

All of these remind me of “doublethinking” from 1984, people holding contradictory views while believing in both. In an ideal world, people would think first, for themselves, questioning everything in a socratic way, before making conclusions. 

It is simple and it is hard at the same time, you just have to focus on yourself. Recently, I have read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, he teaches how to handle chaos. Here is what I have learned.

Focus on what you can control: your health, your craft, your discipline, your principles.

Do not waste your time with what you cannot control: other people’s opinions, the weather, natural events, etc.

Stop reading the news, or at least read it less. Journalists sell bad news, outrage, contradiction, and chaos, it is their currency. Also, stop checking social media so often, it amplifies minor problems and most of the time it is all drama, and if you think carefully, you’ll see that it doesn’t affect your life in the slightest.

And remember, you are not a label, you’re a collection of choices, experiences, and principles that make you be what you are, the world will always try to put you in a box, but you don’t have to fit in. Live your life fully.

I’ll finish with a phrase from Marcus himself:

Freedom begins when you stop letting others define who you are.