"So I am asking my friends and friends I have not met as yet, to do us all a favor. Lets kick it up a notch on how we talk to each other. Yes, and please don't be bashful on calling me on it when I slip up."
There are times I just shake my head in amazement. Good, decent people saying the most awful things to each other. And it is usually over...(ready for this?)...POLITICS. Good flipping grief, and often times it is people on the same side of the political spectrum saying those awful things.
I know right now some are sitting on the edge of their seat getting ready to call me all kinds of names that rhyme with hypocrite. And they would be right. I have done that also. But I am really trying to be better. True, I am a bit harsher on those on the other side of the political street. But I try not to be too harsh. The one who is taking most of my ire right now is our Governor. Why? He is holding my money hostage. And I want it back.
Anyhow, back to how we all treat each other. My good friend Ben always tells others that it is okay to disagree, but you can do it without being disagreeable. Or be respectful. I like having an exchange of ideas. I don't even care if a little emotion gets cooked in the conversation. That just shows passion for a position. But when it gets personal, loud, abrasive, or combative - time to stop. Just agree to disagree and shake hands (literally or figuratively).
Cutting a person down is just about the easiest thing in the world. Without too much effort, I could think of 10 to 15 things to say to a person to really ruin their day. But to what end? What have I accomplished if I did so. The Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians to edify each other. To build each other up. To let an unkind word go unsaid. To tear someone down just to build yourself up is just plain evil - and wrong.
A friend of mine just told me he has heard some very vile things said about Islam on social media. Hateful things. And he told me much of it was coming from the Right side of the street. If that is true, that is shameful. That is not how we roll. We are better than that.
Rush (when he was really heavy), always knew when he won an argument. Why? The other person would call him fat. The other person ran out of ideas how to beat Rush in the arena of ideas. Thus, the name calling.
So I am asking my friends and friends I have not met as yet, to do us all a favor. Lets kick it up a notch on how we talk to each other. Yes, and please don't be bashful with calling me out when I slip up. Life is too short, and this next election is way too important. Where is the love man? I hope right here.
I've long followed Rush's idea that when the opponent drops to ad hominem (i.e. personal) attacks, I've won the debate. Sometimes, though, I like to rub it in and say, "Suppose I really am all you say-- I'm not, but say I were-- does that make me wrong?"
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