Updated November 2023. First published on ebdawsonwriting.com

This is a topic very close to my heart. We live in an interesting age. There is a very real sense in which globalization has put us more in touch with the world around us. But there is another sense in which we are more ideologically isolated than we have been in decades. People are getting their news and discussing their ideas predominantly online. But search engines and social media tailor the posts that you see. And in social media, it is all too easy to unfollow or block people you don’t agree with.

Way too many people have lost the ability to have a respectful conversation with someone they disagree with. Black and white thinking is dominating our society–the idea that there are only ever two sides to an issue and that if you don’t believe A you must believe B, not recognizing that there may, in fact, be a C and D. It’s a logical fallacy, a very dangerous one, which creates division. Some people even believe that just listening to an idea means you agree with it and therefore they refuse to listen to anything they don’t agree with. Even just typing those words scares me.

Ideas certainly are powerful. But you don’t have to be afraid of them. The best way to prove the strength and validity of your own ideas is by testing them against others. If you have a belief that has never been challenged then you’re little more than a yes-man. It’s okay to question yourself and to feel uncomfortable. That is how we grow and how we learn to understand others.

This is incredibly important when it comes to art. Art is based around ideas whether that idea is representationally simple or propositionally complex. All art comments on value and beauty at the very least. But stories, in particular, are full of complex propositional content, usually of an ethical nature. There is nothing wrong with reading stories full of ideas we agree with, as long as those are not the only stories we read.

Now I’m not saying you need to go out and read stories that go beyond what you can handle. For the most part, I know what gives me nightmares, what makes me irrationally angry, and what sends me into an unhealthy bog of sadness. Yes, stories can do all of that because stories are powerful. They stimulate images and thoughts in your mind, which aren’t easily erased.

However, there is a difference between being negatively impacted by a book and being just a little bit uncomfortable. I have found that the more I read stories just a little outside my comfort zone, the more I am able to understand people from all walks of life and to engage in conversation with them. On the other hand, when everything I read, and watch, and listen to is completely homogenous, I isolate myself from the world around me.

There are several accounts on social media who I continue to follow because they believe things completely different from me. Sometimes they post things that make me angry and frustrated. But in a recent conversation with some of my extended family, I suddenly realized that I had perspectives and insights that they didn’t have. Social media gives me the opportunity to interact with people I might not interact with in real life. If I block out everybody who doesn’t fit my cookie-cutter parameters, then I am depriving myself of healthy growth and accountability. 

The same applies to books, to a degree. The last few years I have branched out in my reading. Before that, I had pretty much given up on modern fiction and only occasionally read classics or non-fiction. Now I read a variety of indie authors, small press, and once in a while even trad press (fantasy, science fiction, contemporary). I used to never pick up a book until I was completely sure I would love it, cause I hated being disappointed. Now I take risks on new books all the time.

And I think it has actually been good for me. Not only has it taught me A TON as an author about writing craft and my own style, but the content of these books have made me think. Some had content and ideas I disagreed with. Some made me uncomfortable. Some have helped me more clearly define boundaries in my mind of what I read and what I write. Some have pushed those boundaries back. All together they have challenged me emotionally and intellectually and made me a stronger, wiser, more compassionate individual.

As the year is coming to a close, I would encourage you to take a look at next year and take steps to widen your circles and your reading material. Don’t let yourself live in a homogeneous bubble. Keep challenging yourself to be open-minded. Be humble enough to admit that maybe your perspective is limited and there might be value in listening to another perspective. The more you are able to genuinely listen to other perspectives, with intent to understand, the more you will be able to present those perspectives in your books.