Lost Art of Civil Conversation

Okay, I know I made a promise not to post anything political on my public platforms. And, I intend to keep my promise. But, I have to vent. It's late so this may turn into a series of tangents with a point at the end. And, this isn't just about politics. It's about human behavior in general. There is a dying skill in this world. People are losing the ability to have civil conversations/debates about differences in belief. And, there's a strong urge to force the "I'm right, you're wrong" down the throat of whoever you're talking to by any means necessary. To the point that families are divided. Marriages and friendships are ending. What happened to giving your points, listening to the other, and then agreeing to disagree?

One of my closest friends just wrote an article for the Washington Examiner about all the recent boycotts. He is a diehard conservative Republican. While I am a liberal leaning Independent. We differ on a lot of views. But, we've been friends since we were 10 and not about to throw away a 20+ year friendship because we stand on "opposite sides of the aisle" so to speak. One thing we could agree on was how ridiculous the reaction to these boycotts are. Take the highly publicized Nordstrom boycott. Nordstrom announced that they are no longer carrying Ivanka Trump's brand in their stores due to lack of sales. But, people (including 45 himself) are enraged! Now, if Mr. Trump were as great a business man as he claimed, he would understand this and not take it personally. Why continue to stock something that doesn't sell? It's a loss on the business's part, especially in the price range of the items Nordstrom carries. (Far outside my budget, let me tell you.) But, it's common sense supply and demand. If the demand's not there, why take a financial hit with the supply? I see it all the time at my day job. A product doesn't sell, corporate says it has to go. Maybe they'll bring it back. Maybe they'll renegotiate and carry only a small portion of her line. That remains to be seen.

Another I keep seeing things about is the Starbucks debate. Starbucks announced that they will hire refugees that come to this country. Of course, people were up in arms about it. I saw a few of my own friends argue "why aren't they hiring veterans? What about our own people?" When, if you do some research, the coffee chain actually has a massive hiring program for vets. And, in terms of refugees, they said they'd begin by hiring those who worked as translators for our military.

I'm afraid to say something at work for fear of someone going off on me. I get that enough without bringing politics into it. When someone tries to goad me into a debate/discussion, I smile and say I have no political views on the clock, and keep working. Same with friends who share political differences. Smile and nod and change the subject. Partly because I don't want to debate. Partly because I am no expert and would probably lose by not having a comeback. I can't even share something on Facebook without friends launching into longwinded arguments. I don't even want to share a meme meant to be a joke because someone will take it the wrong way. And that's been going on for years. But, that may be another rant someday.

The protest at UC Berkley- the speaker, a self proclaimed sh*t starter, was scheduled to speak. So, students came to protest. It started out peaceful until a group began shooting and throwing things and it turned insane. That was uncalled for. I don't agree with that that person talks about, but he had a right to be there. Just like those protesters did, provided it remained peaceful. Violence doesn't get us anywhere.

I just don't see why things have to be so polarizing nowadays. It's not getting us anywhere. If anything, it's further making things worse. I've accepted the fact that Donald Trump is President. I don't like it. I don't like him. I think he's a horrid excuse for a human. But, there's nothing I can do about it. I will be among the voices who speak out when he does something I disagree with and I think will harm this country. I won't do it on my author platform (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr) with the exception of this blog post. If need be, I'll create a separate blog to share only on my personal Facebook page. I will do my best to live my life and be kind to others. I will be more informed and politely discuss the issues of today with others if I please. And, I will hope that this brutal divisiveness ends. We've had major views split this country several times in its history and we've come through each time. But, we never seem to learn. Or, we do for a while and quickly forget. What lesson is that for future generations? Having different views and beliefs is what makes the US the beautiful melting pot that it is. Why tarnish that now? If something's wrong, by all means speak out. But, you don't have to be violent about it. Discuss, debate (peacefully), and here's an idea. Compromise! Make things work so it's better for all.

Call me naïve. But, I'm still going to hold out a small bit of hope for the people in this country and the rest of the world. For the sake of future generations. If we ruin it now, what hope do they have?