Writing these blogs is like having a discussion; with myself. It is not what I expected when I began. I thought to just write down my random thoughts and memories for the grandkids or possibly others to enjoy. I chose random thoughts because I don't feel like I am an expert in any one field or subject matter. My mind and my interests wander. Whether that is a good thing or not, I leave to the future.
There has been an unexpected benefit. I think I may have grown a little bit in some ways. Discussion, not argument, has a way of doing that. When you start to argue with yourself that is a sign of trouble ! Now, I often have to give myself a stern talking to, self reprimand is good for the soul, but I seldom argue with myself. I pretty much agree that I know what I'm talking about, it is others that get confused by my thoughts. Trying to explain those thoughts is the daily challenge I face in writing and in the real world. It is the challenge we all face. If we could only understand the mind of our fellow man a lot of trouble would be avoided. Well, it is a cultural thing for the most part. Although I do think that is becoming more of a blurred image. It has become a popular thing to adopt a " culture " based on ancestry. That is a discussion I have had with myself. My conclusion was the degree of that adoption is usually based upon what your parents stressed to you. I have German and Swedish ancestry. I was aware of that as a child but my parents didn't stress it. By that I mean we did not practice or adopt any cultural things from either of those cultures. I am an American. Not a hyphenated American, an American. I will forever stand with America.
I do think these "discussions" that I have been having have served a purpose. My attitudes on certain subjects have changed somewhat. I would say my core values have not changed, but I am less likely to be angered by others whose core values do not agree with mine. Tolerance and understanding ? Perhaps. I would say I have a less aggressive approach to my arguments. You could say I don't beat myself up nearly as much as I used to. Measured responses are the better avenue to discussion.
In some ways our " society " is having a big discussion. This discussion has become heated in the last few weeks. It is troubling to say the least. There are some that want to just scrap the fundamentals of our government in favor of new " liberal " policies. There are those claiming bias and prejudice and those denying the existence of it. Both groups are correct. That is so because we do not understand the mindset of the others. Again I believe it is really a cultural thing. We need to get everyone on the same page, to coin an old adage. Quit arguing and start discussing !
Reading over what I just wrote I can see I have wandered again. It is what I do. I hope that some of what I write causes others to think and discuss. I find reading others thoughts to be a more effective way of understanding what it is they are trying to say. Writing does have a tendency to remove the emotional response from the discussion. You could argue that a good writer inspires an emotional response. That is true enough, but I don't claim to be a good writer. Plus it depends upon what you are writing about.
So, what is it I am trying to say in all of this ? I'm just sayin' talk about it, but don't fight over it. Wouldn't that be great ? Then we wouldn't have wars. Wars are fought over ideals. Wars are fought over the discussions of men and fought by those that believe. That is about as basic as it gets.
There has been an unexpected benefit. I think I may have grown a little bit in some ways. Discussion, not argument, has a way of doing that. When you start to argue with yourself that is a sign of trouble ! Now, I often have to give myself a stern talking to, self reprimand is good for the soul, but I seldom argue with myself. I pretty much agree that I know what I'm talking about, it is others that get confused by my thoughts. Trying to explain those thoughts is the daily challenge I face in writing and in the real world. It is the challenge we all face. If we could only understand the mind of our fellow man a lot of trouble would be avoided. Well, it is a cultural thing for the most part. Although I do think that is becoming more of a blurred image. It has become a popular thing to adopt a " culture " based on ancestry. That is a discussion I have had with myself. My conclusion was the degree of that adoption is usually based upon what your parents stressed to you. I have German and Swedish ancestry. I was aware of that as a child but my parents didn't stress it. By that I mean we did not practice or adopt any cultural things from either of those cultures. I am an American. Not a hyphenated American, an American. I will forever stand with America.
I do think these "discussions" that I have been having have served a purpose. My attitudes on certain subjects have changed somewhat. I would say my core values have not changed, but I am less likely to be angered by others whose core values do not agree with mine. Tolerance and understanding ? Perhaps. I would say I have a less aggressive approach to my arguments. You could say I don't beat myself up nearly as much as I used to. Measured responses are the better avenue to discussion.
In some ways our " society " is having a big discussion. This discussion has become heated in the last few weeks. It is troubling to say the least. There are some that want to just scrap the fundamentals of our government in favor of new " liberal " policies. There are those claiming bias and prejudice and those denying the existence of it. Both groups are correct. That is so because we do not understand the mindset of the others. Again I believe it is really a cultural thing. We need to get everyone on the same page, to coin an old adage. Quit arguing and start discussing !
Reading over what I just wrote I can see I have wandered again. It is what I do. I hope that some of what I write causes others to think and discuss. I find reading others thoughts to be a more effective way of understanding what it is they are trying to say. Writing does have a tendency to remove the emotional response from the discussion. You could argue that a good writer inspires an emotional response. That is true enough, but I don't claim to be a good writer. Plus it depends upon what you are writing about.
So, what is it I am trying to say in all of this ? I'm just sayin' talk about it, but don't fight over it. Wouldn't that be great ? Then we wouldn't have wars. Wars are fought over ideals. Wars are fought over the discussions of men and fought by those that believe. That is about as basic as it gets.
No comments:
Post a Comment