Talking To People

One of the worst failings of this blog environment is the misuse of communication. While a blog entry is, by definition a monologue, the comment section can and should be a dialogue, with as many participants as is practicable. Nothing kills a conversation faster than someone who talks at people instead of with them.

Sometimes it's inadvertent. Other times it's deliberate. Always it is the result of an ego needing to be fed. In the realm of ideological warfare there is no shortage of ego (yours truly included). So how then do conversationalists manage to avoid the pitfall of ego-driven "gotcha" sessions that satisfy no real purpose and advance no positive dialog?

Obviously, the first step is recognition. We all have principles and beliefs that we wish to promote. Ego in and of itself is not a bad thing, but it can lead to some very negative results. When we see in ourselves absolutes, we essentially put on blinkers. Dialogue is impossible when afflicted by tunnel vision. You are as correct as the next person, at least in your own mind. The task is not to pummel them into agreement, but to persuade them. The lazy can never manage this. It's much easier to resort to ridicule than to exercise logic.

The second step is even harder. Listen. Hear. Understand. It is impossible to apply logic to an argument with your fingers in your ears. Shouting down an opposing viewpoint does not negate it. Arrogance is no substitute for intelligence.

Words Not Bullets

The most prevalent type of warfare man has prosecuted throughout history has been ideological warfare. Which King is predominant, which religion is "true", which political philosophy is most effective (or beneficial). The common theme in all of this drama, suffering and conquest has been belief. Conviction. Even, dare I say it, faith.

What has been waged at Anti-Strib blog for many, many years is ideological warfare. Faith is a strange thing. Conservatives generally embrace it. Liberals usually deny it, but cling to it nonetheless. Ideology is the underpinning of what we see ourselves as being. It is the unspoken essence of what we speak, both in public and to ourselves.

Some of us take ourselves very seriously, and in so doing often fail at the most critical requirement of communication: understanding. Strike that. MOST of us are guilty of this inadequacy.

There are always casualties in war. In the current version of ideological war in America, Anti-Strib has fallen. War often seems futile, and many times it is. But ideology is never futile. It is an essential component of the thinking person. It is the definition of all that is learned, all that is hoped for. And it is worth fighting for

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words