Keep talking like that and no one will hear you.

The meat of my statement can be found by scrolling down to the part starting with “Summing It Up”. Everything before that is really unnecessary.

I need to clarify something. Those who read my last post may have appreciated it as something akin to “let’s all get along”. No, “all of us getting along” is not something I believe in. Not, at least, in the sense that we will someday think alike or even appreciate the feelings of others.

I discuss religion a lot and used to tell people quite often that while I may not necessarily agree with them, I appreciated their point of view.  You could say there’s some truth to that. I honestly believe that to really appreciate someone’s point of view, it is necessary to agree with them.  I just believe that, try as we might, it is not within our capabilities to fully immerse ourselves in someone else’s world.

Within my dialogues with others I have never heard anything that swayed my religious views, or lack thereof. People have said to me things such as “But without Jesus Christ as your savior, you will not get into heaven.” I have no intention of proving or disproving the preceding statement. It just serves as a good example that I can build my point around. It’s something I’ve heard a lot and, thusly, have considered a lot.

Now, I have never believed in heaven, hell, god or his son being sent to earth. I feel very concrete on that. My world is a world without these things. It always has been. Therefore, the preceding statement means little to me. Conversely, I can only imagine that the person telling me this has lived a life where they thanked God for successes and sought his wisdom when things took a turn for the worse. I imagine for them that they see the Bible’s teachings in everyday life and are thankful for the insight, wisdom and comfort provided by the words of those who God spoke through. I imagine that the Christian lives in a world with these things. Things that have always been. This is that Christian’s real world.

I ask that you please not try to pick apart who is right or wrong here. That is not what this is about.

What this is about is me picturing my friend Jason telling me I’m wrong. He is a Christian and a damn fine individual and I’m picturing myself trying with all of my being to verbally BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF HIM. You might ask “Why?”. Because to tell someone that the way they see the world is “incorrect” is, quite simply, a huge FUCK UP. (I’m actually mad now. Going to smoke.)

Ok, I’m better. The point I’m trying to make is that we should mind how we approach each other. Religion is an easy example because it’s something people tend to be solid on. The way we see the world is not a thing that is easily swayed. Jason and I will probably not change our take on this topic unless something incredibly dramatic and profound happens or Jason starts to see reality for what it is. J (that was me getting back at you for the thing I imagined the imaginary you saying to me. you asshole.)

Summing it up:

1.      1.  Political dialogue in the United States is typically little more than mental masturbation. I say the way I feel 10 different ways and you will do the same. Typically, we will manage to insult each other in the process.  More than likely this will be intentional. We try to undermine people in an attempt to get them to agree with us.

2.      2.  Listening to someone for ten minutes before saying that you have a single feeling to the contrary will get you further than having spent than ten minutes explaining your own thoughts.

3.       3. Asking questions regarding someone’s thoughts creates a dialogue. It is important to avoid waiting for an opportunity to disprove someone. That is not dialogue. That is boxing. You are simply waiting for a chance to land a clean blow.

4.      4.  Never, ever, ever expect to change someone’s mind. To do so is to invite disappointment and corrupt everything you say with your own agenda. Try to say how you feel about the given topic and no more. If you have any chance of getting someone to see something your way, this is how to do it.

5.       5. Be receptive to the idea that something might make sense to you.  There have been times where I found out that something I agreed with simply because my political party had chosen such and such side, was unfair. I was playing party politics. I LOATHE party politics.

6.      6. If you find that neither of you will be swayed, start talking about compromise. A statement such as “I hear what you’re saying and you make valid points but I still feel that “x” is important. There has to be something we can do. We can’t do nothing.” Only a completely irrational individual is unwilling to compromise. These people can sit at the far ends of the left and the right and start getting ignored instead of getting air time.

THE 6 STEPS ABOVE ARE NOT ABOUT “GETTING ALONG”. THIS IS A TACTICAL MANEUVER.

We need to stop regarding our fellow Americans as our enemies. Personally, I am more afraid of the growing number of people in this country that have become disenfranchised. The society we want, the values we find and, most important, the “better world” we envision is a world found in the middle. If a given side has power and uses that power to force others into their world view, it will be undone when the other side inevitably regains it. This is about as progressive as a swing set. So. Do you like to hear yourself talk, or do you want what you say to mean something?