OUR RIGHT TO DISAGREE
Posted by Tim Bryce on November 2, 2016
BRYCE ON COMMUNICATIONS
– Political correctness is killing it.
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I recently returned to my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio where I met with some classmates for dinner prior to attending a football game at my high school alma mater. In particular, I got to catch up with a female friend who I have known for a long time. Our families were very close and our parents often met on the weekends and took vacations together. Her father was a noted physician in the area, and her mother was a great cook of Jewish cuisine. I loved visiting their house to sample some of her delicacies and share a cigar with her father. My classmate and I were so close, she still refers to me as her “Big Brother” and I think fondly of her as my sister.
During the course of our discussions, we caught up on what all the other family members were doing. We laughed, we were serious, and we were candid. It was great to see her again. However, there was a point where I wanted to talk a little politics; to discuss a column I was working on. Hearing this, my friend raised her hand, and knowing my political persuasion, said, “We better stop here.” She obviously didn’t want to get into a situation that may cause friction.
Frankly, my friend’s opposition to discussing such a subject surprised me. I can vividly remember our parents talking politics over their Friday night get-togethers. When it came to politics, the families were polar opposites, yet this did not deter them from talking about such things as Richard Nixon, the Viet Nam war, Israel, and a plethora of other subjects. They disagreed on several areas, but found the dialog stimulating and there was respect for opposing opinions. They then sat down for dinner and laughed.
So here was my classmate and myself, practically brother and sister, just one generation removed from our parents, and we can no longer discuss politics without offending someone, and I find this all rather disturbing. Frankly, I blame it on society’s inability to carry on a conversation (thanks to excessive use of technology), the visceral ideological differences of today, and political correctness which has run amok.
It disturbs me we cannot carry on a dialog of anything meaningful anymore, be it political, religious, racial, even humor. The point is, such discussions, should be a two-way street, certainly not one way. They are vital for building awareness and trust, which is what happened to my parents and their friends years ago.
Once a week, I meet with a small group of men where we enjoy some libations, and talk frankly on a wide variety of subjects, particularly current events. We have been doing this for several years now, and, No, we do not always agree, but I wouldn’t trade these get-togethers for anything as it adds meaning to my life.
When we can no longer speak from the heart without fear of offending someone, it is time to pack it in. As for me, I prefer a respectful argument, something with some useful mental gymnastics, before sitting down to dinner and laughing.
Let me leave you with a piece of the famous “Argument Sketch” from Monty Python which, unfortunately, is how a lot of people perceive such discourse today.
MONTY PYTHON – THE ARGUMENT SKETCH
Man: Is this the right room for an argument?
Other Man: I’ve told you once.
Man: No you haven’t!
Other Man: Yes I have.
M: When?
O: Just now.
M: No you didn’t!
O: Yes I did!
M: You didn’t!
O: I did!
M: You didn’t!
O: I’m telling you, I did!
M: You did not!
O: Oh I’m sorry, is this a five minute argument, or the full half hour?
Also published with The Huffington Post.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
For Tim’s columns, see: timbryce.com
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Copyright © 2016 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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NEXT UP: THE POWER OF GOOD COACHING – Imagine if we could do this in the workplace.
LAST TIME: WHAT IT MEANS TO VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON – What can we assume about a vote for Mrs. Clinton?
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Wayne Brown said
I have lamented on this very subject for a while now. In the past ten years, politics has taken on a whole new meaning for me. No longer is it about two parties agreeing on the common goal yet disagreeing on how to get there–those were days of old. Now it is a division based on philosophical and ideological beliefs. The more conservative among us seem to take a stand after they have made a personal assessment of the situation. That stand may or may not align with the party line but it still planks in with conservative principles of old. On the other hand, the liberals seem to look to the Democrat Party for the guidance on what to believe and why. They do not appear to make their own assessment but take pride in defending the party’s perspective no matter how absurd. At no time is that more obvious today than in the current presidential election. The Left believes everything that the party can cook up on Donald Trump but there is no possibility of coming up with enough evidence to even create concern over Hillary Clinton’s three decades of scandals and law-breaking.
I no longer feel that we are a people with a common appreciation of things that we believe. I do not feel that half of our population places as much importance on Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness as they do in finding ways for the government to run our lives. We have a Constitution and a Bill of Rights that the American public is either apathetic about or ignorant of and neither of those situation bode well for a good outcome. We have an education system bent on making sure such things are no longer taught yet over the top when it comes to creating social conscience and making young minds believe that both fairness and equality can be legislated–a great mask for wealth redistribution ideology.
I believe we are truly past the time in this nation in which one changes another’s mind politically no matter how much we respect each other. I have many liberal friends and out of respect, I listen to their concerns but I do not see them offering up viable arguments on why Hillary Clinton is a viable choice for president or why she is so scandal-proned by seemingly sheer coincidence of her public presence. They are also people who do not seem to tie “choice” to consequence. They seem no consequence of allowing illegals and untold numbers of refugees into the country because their own party has told them that it is the righteous and politically correct thing to do. It never dawns on them that they are slowly giving their culture and their control over it away to outsiders who come here demanding that we assimilate to them rather than they to us. All of this becomes the backdrop for socialism or something far more evil to root and grow rapidly yet their ignorance and lack of touch with reality keeps them from seeing that consequence.
I am totally with you, Tim. Thank God there are still groups with opposing views who can sit down over a drink and a cigar while talking with respect to one another about things on which they disagree. I call that open-mindness–a point at which any one of us can learn something we did not know and re-evaluate our own position. No doubt, there are many perspectives to Watergate and the outcome for Nixon but when taken in light of what is on the table today, how can one look at it and not realize that Richard Nixon was guilty only of trying to cover up something that was very stupid in the first place? Still, Nixon had enough respect for the office to resign and walk away in shame. Such pride is non-existent with Hillary Clinton yet her supporters cannot see the perspective no matter the depth of the evidence. Such blindness does not bode well at all for America. ~WB
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Tim Bryce said
Wayne – I tend to believe the Democrats want to dominate the people as they believe the people are not smart enough to know what is best for them. I call this a “Master/Slave” relationship.
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