It helps to remember my mom and dad’s belief that there were three
things you never talked about in public. Religion, politics, and sex. My dad died
before Facebook came along and I think he would be shocked at what people post
on those topics.
Growing up I listened to the adults in our extended family talk
politics. One of my favorite childhood activities was listening to the adults
talk from the room we were playing in. It was the second to curling up with a
book during a visit to relatives. Relatives had more and different books.
And they had different opinions and shared them amongst themselves,
freely. I found it fascinating and probably noticed a tip or two along the way.
I definitely learned that the person who raised their voice to get a point
across the discussion was ended with one of the calmer family members saying, “Well
it looks like we will have to agree to disagree.” I was never privy to the outcome of all of
those discussions. Did anyone change their mind about a candidate or a
situation?
The lesson to shut down a conversation when someone becomes louder worked
well during my business career. Learning to listen and respond to their words
instead of their behavior was also a handy tool.
I thought when I retired, I might be able to put the tools away. Silly
me. It seems even retired people have opportunities to practice empathy. The
question I am asking myself is this,
“When someone lies and others repeat the lies
as gospel is there value in pointing out facts that demonstrate a lie occurred?”
And if an opinion is based on acceptance of information that is not
supported with facts, is there a responsibility to point that out? Or is it
better just to change the subject?
Maybe I am retired but my work habits have not retired quite yet. I will
continue to work on letting go.
No comments:
Post a Comment