by I mourn the loss of the elegant dissenter in every aspect of our modern lives. On many blogs, it appears impossible for commenters to state a cogent and reverential opposing view on what was originally written. The angry comments are filled with rage, snark, name-calling and unbridled hatred.
The Boles Blogs Network is not immune from this lack of elegant dissenters. We don’t publish every comment submitted because not every comment earns the embarrassment of publication.
Some commenters actually make good points in disagreeing with an article, but then, like some sort of nasty strain of DNA-coding they cannot defeat or overcome, they always end their comment with a curse word or an insult. If they could just learn to lop the last sentence of their “closing argument” — they would likely be much more heard, and appreciated, around the world.
We see this lack of manners in our entertainment mores and political lives as well. It isn’t enough to just calmly disagree — you have to disagree so horribly that you have to spit and curse and yell and stomp your feet on the ground as part of the theatrics of dissent — and that is so humanly wrong and so emotionally vile that everything uttered is wiped from the memory of the moment so that even a small, righteous, counter-argument win is lost in the overdosed bloodletting.
If we ever hope to move out of the tar pit and at least start to crawl back into the morass of basic humanity — we need to begin to relearn how to honorably disagree without wanting to kill each other in the process — and we start by listening and by actively considering ideas that are not our own, but that may still speak to us in quiet contemplation.
Sometimes I will read a blog I know that is completely different from my POV just to see what other people think. I rarely comment because often thoughtful dissent is met with, as you put it, rude expletives etc.
That’s a good point, Gordon. Even if you want to make an interesting and respectful comment, you will likely get shouted down and out by the other nasty commenters.
I think this is right. We’re all so ego centric that if anyone dare disagree we take that as a direct threat to self, right? We all need to calm down and relax and find solutions not more aggravation.
We are full down the rabbit hole, Anne. Can we clamber out and recover? The entire culture would have to change first.
When I read this for the first time I thought, yes, we have lost the art of debate. But I think it’s more than that, there seems to be a real need to ‘control one’s environment’ by being right and me being right means you are wrong and deserve to be punished, humiliated, ground into the dust. Listening to people debate “God” is interesting as the argument trolls through philosophy, theology and religion and treats the three diciplines as if they were one. Lack of academic discipline? We need to re-learn to use our words as brushstrokes not sabre parries.
You make excellent points, Kathe.
I actually read an online argument a while back over the most important color. Some said “red” while others argued “blue” and the argument was purely about color and tint and tone — and not religion or politics — yet the two sides were ready to kill each other!