A common behaviour shared among the majority of Humans is the inability to accept when they are wrong. To be wrong about something is inappropriately portrayed as being weak, stupid, and incompetent. Often times when two people engage in a debate or argument with one another, one of them is generally wrong. Whether it is between a couple arguing about who started the fight, or two friends who both believe they have the correct knowledge of a certain topic, one the two parties will be wrong, and the other will be right. Instead of stopping to consider the other persons point or hear their words, the fight will escalate far past the disagreement and venture into a fight solely about winning. This is due to the fact that, as I stated before, people are terrified to be incorrect. People are terrified to be the one at fault, or to be the catalyst of hurting someone's feelings. We have somehow twisted admitting fault to be the equivalent of stupidity. I cannot accurately describe how ridiculous that notion is. Humans make mistakes. We fuck up. We say the wrong thing and hurt someone's feelings. We have misinformation about something and declare it to be true, only to be challenged with another's opposing information, and are proven wrong. These are not faults in our character! Unfortunately, Humans are afraid of change, they are afraid of growth, which IS change. To be wrong does not mean you have some disability! It means something so innocent and pure; you were wrong. I don't understand how we see this as a BAD thing! The only thing condemning about being in the wrong, is how we handle it. It's similar to emotions. All of our emotions are valid. Our emotions don't define us, it's how we react to our emotions that define us. Emotions are a fact. An unchanging variable. When we are wrong in an argument, it is an unchanging variable. In that moment, it is a FACT that we are wrong. This cannot be altered, no matter how loud we yell or for how long we close our ears. But, for some reason, people won't accept this. They shy away from growth. They don't see how it is a good thing to be wrong. Once you realize and ADMIT that you are at fault, you can LEARN how to do differently next time! You can become more intelligible by learning the correct facts about that one subject so you don't continue to go around spouting out misinformation. You can see how your behaviour has negatively affected the person you care about, so you'll be sure to never do the same thing again! I don't understand why people are terrified to be wrong; I think it's a humbling (albeit frustrating) circumstance that offers an opportunity to become a better person! We shouldn't be ignorant to the positive prospects of being proven wrong.
THIS is why I have listed people who won't admit fault as one of my biggest pet peeves. As someone who loves knowledge and looks at every moment as a learning experience, I am not afraid to say when I am wrong. Because when I do, I can LEARN MORE about a stance I've taken in politics which will perhaps change my belief. I can learn more about how my actions have negatively affected another Human Being so I can make sure to never make someone feel that way again! I can LEARN from my mistakes and GROW into a better person! I live my days with the singular rule of "be a decent person", and if I have the option to better fulfill that requirement I have of myself, you bet your ass I'm going to take it.