I love a good
argument. I don't mean an angry disagreement. I mean the curious and
respectful exploration of opposing ideas to find the source of difference, see
if there is some 'middle ground', and something new to learn.
But genuine arguments so rarely
happen these days.
The so-called 'argument' these days is more like a vehement battle of opposing ideas. A battle
to the death with tongues as weapons: 'I believe 'this' and I'm right.' 'Well no, you're wrong; I
believe 'that'.' 'No way, how could you think 'that'? You are so brainwashed and stupid.'
The aim of
the contemporary 'argument' seems to be to beat your opponent's idea, and
really, to conquer your opponent personally.
Nowhere is this more evident than on social media - platforms geared to
witty and pithy comments which reward those who generate outrage (going viral). Social media platforms were born of a part of youth culture where verbal one-upmanship and scathing put-downs were a 'performance art' that
replaced genuine conversation. Fun for some. Entertaining for some topics. But
now, serious topics of discussion on social media get the same treatment.
Arguing on social media is so well known to be pointless, it has generated its own memes. A new golden rule for our times is never argue
with someone online.
Recently, I broke
that golden rule.
Long story short: it
did not go well.
Long story, not
short at all: the contemporary 'argument' remains pretty woeful. World
harmony and understanding was not advanced. No agreement was reached. But I learnt a lot. Mainly about
myself. And I learnt to pay attention to some red flags that can lurk in an argument.
In fact, I would go so far as to recommend it to you!
