Disagreement
Knowing the Difference
No one shows up in your life with a sticker on the lapel saying, “I am a gossip,” no matter how helpful that warning might prove. Similarly, to my knowledge, no one on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social media site provides a profile picture that reads, “Cagy Internet Troll.” Instead, we must figure these…
Read MoreWhat the LORD Hates
We live in a world of hate. Indeed, headlines reflect a lack of incivility in America that hearkens back to the days of fistfights in Congress, social media outlets keep inventing new rules to curb people’s zest for malice—except for instituting expectations of true human decency, and the various entertainment venues to which people formerly…
Read MoreDiscernment: A Forgotten Virtue
Since at least the end of World War II, American society has emphasized education as the path to success. This likely grew out of the practical experience of the Great Depression, as countless workers lost jobs and seemed at the mercy of their more educated counterparts. However, over time, the American system of higher education—whether…
Read MoreEmpty Words
Any discussion that includes some level of disagreement requires greater communication skills than most people maintain in their arsenal. Instead, people tend to avoid disagreement in favor of the comfortable confines of self-affirming opinions offered by friends or they resort to mocking the other person and his position, usually with an assumption built on a…
Read MoreArguing Against Rebuke
Criticism of any kind hurts to some extent. No matter how much you love and respect the person offering criticism and how much you know that person loves and respects you, criticism—no matter how constructive—comes with a great deal of pain. Sometimes this pain is rooted in the realization that the criticism is valid, and…
Read MoreAssumed Perspectives
Disagreements have never been easy. Even when the other person lives a continent away and your own settings entirely control the posts you see, conflict raises the blood pressure and creates unwanted stress. The closer you are to a person, the higher the stress level. The more personal the issue, the higher the stress level.…
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