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Big
D The second key to understanding why
abortion is so controversial lies in a basic attribute of human nature called
selective perception. People
perceive and remember.
only a small portion what they witness or
experience.
They focus on certain aspects and ignore others.
The end result is that, after an experience, humans are left with only a
small piece of a small piece of a small piece.
T.L.C.
What do you mean by a piece of a piece?
Big
D Let me rephrase
this using a numerical example. Assume for a moment that an experience were a
million units. Perception of that experience is about one hundred
units. And memory is about ten
units. Memory fades and over time, most of those ten units of memory are completely
lost from the conscious mind.
T.L.C.
Are you sure of that?
Big
D Yes. I'll give
you a demonstration. Tell me about the first six years of your life.
How much of what occurred during those six years do you remember?
T.L.C.
Very little.
Big
D Now go back in your
life exactly ten years from today, and tell me everything you can remember about
that day.
T.L.C.
I don't remember anything that I can tie to that day.
Big
D OK, how about last week
at this time? What were you doing?
T.L.C.
I don't remember that either.
Big
D What did you have for
breakfast yesterday morning?
T.L.C.
OK, I get your message, but we all remember some things.
Big
D Of course, but only if
the event were significant enough to trigger a highly emotional response, and
even then, the one or two units of memory that remain becomes
distorted. The problem is that most
people consider their distorted one or two units of memory to be the sum total of
reality.
Even
when those one or two units of memory are true and accurate, they're also a lie because
they are a
grossly incomplete representation of the total experience, and, if taken by
themselves, are very misleading.
T.L.C.
How does that relate to abortion?
Big
D It's relevant because
everybody's
perception of abortion is only a very small fraction of all there is to know and
understand about abortion. One side looks at a single
fertilized human egg so small it’s almost invisible and weighing next to
nothing and the collective three trillion cells that make up a seven-pound
living, breathing baby and see no difference between the two.
The other side sees a significant difference.
One
side acknowledges the individual human rights of the woman carrying the
fertilized egg. The other
side ignores those rights. One
side sees the long-term, social, political, economic, and environmental
ramifications and consequences of forced motherhood.
The other side ignores those consequences.
The
separation of church and state is a very significant factor in this controversy.
Both sides ignore this issue.
As I’ve just explained, the religious beliefs of those involved play a
significant role in the meaning and significance of terminating a pregnancy. .
Both sides ignore this issue.
T.L.C.
So you are saying that all people look at life from their own
perspective?
Big
D Yes, and each
person is aware of, senses, and remembers only a very tiny fraction of the total
sensory input to which he or she is exposed.
Scientists call this phenomenon selective perception.
I’ll give you a few present-time examples.
Stop for a moment and become aware of your breathing.
Now become aware the shirt against your back.
Become aware of your heartbeat.
Take a moment to look around you. What’s
out there that you didn’t see until just this moment?
OK, now what else can you see, hear, taste, smell or feel that you had
previously ignored?
T.L.C.
Now that you bring this to my attention, all kinds of things.
three
blind men
...
Big
D That’s
because the vast majority of every human experience goes by completely
unnoticed. Like I've already said, people
become aware of only a small piece of what is and then they believe that their piece is the
complete and only truth. Even when it is the truth, it’s still also a lie
because it’s grossly incomplete, and, if taken by itself, is often very misleading.
This
phenomenon can be likened to the three blind men, described in the ancient Sufi
story, as they perceived an elephant via its tail, its side, and its trunk.
They concluded, respectively, that an elephant was like a snake, a wall,
and a tree. Each was totally
right, and each was totally incomplete, and so their conclusions were very
misleading.
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