Everyone Has an Opinion...

There is so much bickering in the world today. I realize that we are a multi-cultural nation, but it’s not even a matter of not speaking the same language. It’s more like not even being on the same page.

Everybody is so caught up in seeing things their own way that we’ve stopped trying to understand anybody else’s perspective. We’ve made up our minds that there’s only one right way to view everything and flexibility has fallen by the wayside. Such rigid belief systems have caused more conflicts and dissension in our world then ever existed before.

I see grown men and women behaving like children on the playground. Actually that’s an insult to children, because children behave better. I can remember when our kids were young and played youth sports. The players got along quite well, but the parents behaved like wild banshees. They would argue with the referees, they would argue with one another, and sometimes the language became quite brutal.

It was ridiculous after a while and I was embarrassed for the children who stood by watching their parents almost come to blows over a score or what they perceived as a bad call. I couldn’t help but think that it was just a game, a child’s game at that. How did we expect children to learn about good sportsmanship when the parents were acting so poorly? And that’s what I see happening now when it comes to politics, religion, and world views. No wonder adults are breaking windows and running people off the road in cars and calling people names and we’re seeing fist fights breaking out at rallies.

Sometimes I think we need to take a deep breath and ask ourselves if the person that we’re trying to debate with is mature enough to understand the point we’re trying to make. You wouldn’t discuss world finances with a toddler or political issues with the kindergartner. You wouldn’t expect them to understand the concepts; you’d know that you’d be wasting your breath. The way these adults are acting today, I don’t know how they expect anyone else to understand their point.

People are aggressive when they make their case and they are as aggressive when others don’t understand the point that they’re trying to make. It doesn’t make for good conversation. There comes a time when you have to appreciate the fact that silence is truly golden and realize that it is better to know in your heart that you’re entitled to your own opinion and you don’t always have to express it.

The next time someone has an opinion that varies from yours, allow them the dignity of owning it. Hear what they have to say and acknowledge that they are a human being with the right to have their own thoughts. Hold your peace and maintain your own integrity by walking away with your head held high and your lips sealed. They may not be ready for the wisdom that you possess, so why waste it?