Thursday, January 13, 2005

Disagreeing

We are obsessed with dichotomies in society today. Democrat/Republican; Liberal/Conservative; Yes/No; Black/White; Man/Woman; Gay/Straight; For/Against. We are letting the C students of the world run things. The people who are completely unable to accept and acknowledge the grayness of the world, because it's too much for them to think about. Democrat/Republican/Independent; Liberal/Conservative/Moderate; Yes/No/Maybe/Sometimes; Black/White/Asian/Latino/Native/Antarctican; Man/Woman (OK, not really any other choices on that one!); Gay/Straight/Bi-sexual/Asexual; For/Against/Just Don't Care. You know, I think if all the Thirds took control of things, we'd discover utopian living.

The worst disagreements are not, however, between people who are diametrically opposed to each other. The most annoying arguments to listen to are between two groups or people who actually agree with each other for the most part but are saying the same thing two different ways. What's the worst thing about it? When both sides want to have the final word.

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