Opposing Views
“It’s very dramatic when two people come together to work something out. It’s easy to take a gun and annihilate your opposition, but what is really exciting to me is to see people with differing views come together and finally respect each other.” Fred Rogers
The world exists around opposing views.
It is what makes us interesting. We all hear the same things, but process what we hear differently. What one person thinks he or she knows may be 180 degrees different than what the next person knows or believes,
These differences should be respected and debate on them encouraged. That is what moves us along as a people and allows for growth. What may have been true today may be vastly different tomorrow. Things change and as they do, so should our views on them. And the discourse we have regarding them should be to learn from one another and develop or refine our own views,
However, this has changed over recent history.
Too many are so entrenched in their own views that they do not want to hear the opposite or even give it the chance to be heard. It is the “My way or the highway” viewpoint. And such is both dangerous and causes great strife among people including families who in some cases no longer talk to or deal with each other. How sad.
I am fortunate in that this has not occurred within my family. We have our differences, politically, but manage to deal with these while still maintaining good relationships. We discuss certain aspects and express our views. We then move on agreeing to disagree on certain things.
“It is not faith per se that creates the problem; it is conviction, the notion that one cannot be wrong, that opposing views are necessarily invalid and may even be intolerable.” Jack McDevitt
I cannot say the same for certain public forums
I am involved with. various online groups such as LinkedIn. There you have an interchange with different people from all over the world regarding topics like business, world events, and politics.
In many cases those who respond to my postings or comments are people of a like mind or ideology. But I also get people of different or opposing viewpoints. I have no problem with that and like when we get into an argument or debate about our differences,
However, more times than not, the other person or persons run out of facts (If they even have any to start with) and the conversation becomes personal.
These folks have just met me through a simple comment I made and are now making disparaging comments about me and my background. They know literally nothing about me and yet are making some outlandish comments about me all over a difference of opinion. I find that reprehensible and tell them that this is what fourth graders do. Since I have moved past that time in my life and they have not, I block them and the “conversation” ends.
How sad is it that people resort to such actions. But it happens quite frequently. That is not how things should work, but unfortunately they do. And we as a people and a society are the worse for it.
“I believe that one of the best ways of getting at truth is reflecting with others who have opposing views and who share your interest in finding the truth rather than being proven right.” Ray Dalio
We have had differences of opinion on probably everything since the start of time.
Through it we have survived and even thrived. But we are supposed to get smarter the more we evolve. I do not believe that is happening. Instead, we seem to be less evolved and interested in learning about ourselves and those around us.
Hopefully that changes. Otherwise, we will become isolated from those we disagree with and will spend time only with those who share our views. How sad and boring. And how limiting to us and our development. The choice is ours. Hopefully we choose wisely.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Peter H. Christian was a founding partner and president of espi, a business consulting firm in Northeastern PA. Previously he was an Executive at Crayola Corporation. He has worked with 300+ clients in business development, profit improvement, operations, IS selection and implementation, and Project Management. He has 40+ years of experience in strategic and facility planning, CI, lean, and supply chain. He has helped companies to realize millions of dollars in cost reductions and profit improvements adding and retaining thousands of jobs. He has authored the Amazon bestselling business books, “What About the Vermin Problem?” and “Influences and Influencers” (4 out of 4 star review on Online Bookclub) and is published in a variety of professional magazines.
