Sometimes our brains can hear voices that don’t exist as soundwaves. These voices are as old as the mountains and as deep as the seas. Only our subconsciousness hears them at first. For many of us during most, if not all, of our lives, they are inaudible whispers in our ears.

Upon first hearing them, we may treat them as if they were auditory hallucinations and ignore them after being either scared, intrigued or amused by them. The more sensitive among us may first hear them at a very young age, maybe as early as 4. When that happens, we are not capable of shutting them out and they become something akin to companions or even guides. Some of them are dark voices, male voices, very low. They might sound like a language that we don’t yet speak or understand. They may sound like any other noise. Doctors counsel sufferers to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not.

These voices I am talking about are not the internal ones of schizophrenics or psychotics. They are the voices of our cultures.

These cultural voices are not hallucinations despite whatever disturbing things we perceive them as saying. They may be at times vulgar or derogatory and even critical of one’s actions. That happens at times when our various cultures are sick or feel unjustifiably under attack. In those instances, they may command the listener to commit destructive acts, be they digital or analogue, self-harmful or violent to others.

These sounds — alternately whisperings, growlings, or screechings — may silently chat away, distracting us as we toil at work or play or dream.

When cultural change is abrupt or speedy or unhinging, many may begin to listen more intently to these voices for guidance and comfort. We may begin to speak, write or meme them without any prior thought or concern or respect for others.

Today’s social media enhanced times seem to have reduced our brain’s language processing input and output abilities limiting us to only those signals that form the core of our regional, neighborhood, clan and personal identity cultures.

This leads me to ask more questions. In this case, here’s my big one: are these voices signs of altered brain structure? We don’t yet know but . . . some recent studies show altered brain activation patterns of youths when social media-izing.

Most of us don’t understand hallucinations or delusions — and we are scared of what we don’t understand. We associate “hearing voices” with insanity. And in today’s 24/7social and legacy media drenched times, the noise never stops.

Perhaps we must recognize our changing neural bases as a partial explanation for what we now perceive as our cultural craziness if not an ongoing, uncivil culture war. In reaction, we might consider becoming more compassionate, more supportive, more patient, more respectful of those not like us — as well as less doctrinaire, less apathetic and less dismissive of them. Perhaps we should ask respectful questions. And then listen.

And actually listen some more to the other side of the story. Don’t gawk. Converse. Don’t preach. Exchange. Don’t assume. Learn. Don’t be lazy. Engage. Invest in this. Seek the light.

We might find out that our narrow, pre-conceived and unchanging views of the other, mostly unknown, sides are, at least in part, wrong. It’s not like these places and cultures are foreign lands that require a passport and visa.

It might be heartbreaking but it could be beautiful. Maybe we might see the humanity in all of these others.

Maybe it’s as simple as “give a shit.”

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