Member-only story
Why can’t We Disagree Without Being Disagreeable?
After my mom died, it was just me, my dad, and my uncle Richard, my mom’s
brother. My dad and my uncle loved each other, and they loved to have loud
debates where they solved all the world’s problems.
They disagreed often, sometimes the discussions were heated, but they
always ended the discussions by agreeing to disagree. The Country is so
polarized now, Social Media has turned into a battleground.
And that’s sad.
I had to unfriend and block people on Facebook that I had been talking to
for years because they couldn’t disagree without insults and name-calling.
In my mind, a debate is for enlightening people or persuading people to my
point of view, or me being the one enlightened or persuaded.
Calling someone that disagrees a Nazi or Dumbass doesn’t persuade or
enlighten, it only hardens that person’s resolve.
I read somewhere that Tip O'Neil and Gerald Ford were good friends, they
were golfing buddies. They were on opposite sides politically, but off the
floor of the House, they were good friends.
I don’t believe we will ever get that back; in fact, I’m sure we will not, because
once civility is lost it is hard to get it back, and the Nation is poorer because of
that.
If we all thought and believed the same way, the world would be a boring
place. I wish that we could talk to each other again without the anger.
