My grandson, picks up my iPad and uses it to hammer the pegs in his toy pegboard. Should I be angry with him? No, to him it is a hammering device; to me it is my beloved iPad.
A student doesn’t turn in an assignment in a timely fashion; I see it has a lazy and irresponsible act. He sees that a greater priority is fixing supper, doing laundry and taking care of his siblings while his mom is at work.
I see an administrator not standing up for his subordinates as an act of cowardice and self serving. He sees it as guaranteeing that he has a job to support his family.
A politician votes in a way that is contradictory to the needs of his constituents. He sees it as staying in office so he can continue to serve in the future.
The first step in problem solving is not to look at the facts, but rather at the perceptions of the parties, whether individuals or governments. If you look at the current problem with Russia annexing Crimea, not from the so called facts, but rather from the perception of the Russian government; you may be able to resolve the issue. Their apparent perception is that the buffer countries they have always had to protect themselves from the west are disappearing leaving them exposed.
Next time we look at the effect of perception in that most personal relationship: man and woman.
Allthingshominidae 
Perception is powerful isn’t it? To be able to put yourself in another shoes to see what they may be seeing is a great step towards more harmony
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Thanks. The precursor to empathy is the acknowledgement that perception is reality; and therefore, their point of view is legitimate.
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I think it’s still hard for many ppl especially when the other persons perceptions go against their morals, values or beliefs. The sooner we can do that the easier it can be to reconcile if you can keep from getting caught up & confused from all the possibilities & where our boundaries lie (or shld that be lay?)
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Sorry about the delay. That’s the point. No person should have the right to interfere with another person’s rights. If society as a whole through its government decides that an act is so against the good of society that it must be illegal, then and only then does society have the right to impose its morality on the individual.
If a person can convince their government an act is that egregious, then the government can declare the act illegal.
The individual or a group of individuals acting outside the laws of government never has the right to impose or intimidate those who they disagree with. Might does not make right.
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