Why can't arguments be more fun?

I had to unfriend a person on Facebook for the first time recently. She was fairly conservative, and tended to post things of that nature. Me being... well... me, I would sometimes dispute some premises, facts, or conclusions, resulting in an argument. From my perspective, it's all in good fun. Unfortunately, it eventually became apparent that she did not share this view (yeah, it took me a while to realize how bad it was, even with my girlfriend getting annoyed with me, between it being the internet and that I can be somewhat oblivious to these things).

Let me make it clear: I didn't unfriend her because of any animosity on my part, nor that I tired of attempts to convince her of my position. She seems like a genuinely decent person, nor is conversion to my side the point (it was apparent early on that was unlikely, anyway). No, the problem was that I was unnecessarily upsetting her, a fellow follower of Christ. I have a hard time keeping my opinions to myself when I see something I disagree with, so it was best just to take away that temptation.

I have continued to receive emails listing replies to some posts I commented on, despite no longer having the ability to see the actual page. I had to raise an eyebrow when one person felt I was a "libtard and provocateur" that should "fall off a cliff." Really? The post I had replied to in that case had some historical inaccuracies I pointed out (keep in mind I consider history important), and for that I should die? Was pointing out that some facts were wrong really that bad?

Truthfully, I don't really understand why differing opinions upset people. I know it's common, and I try to be understanding of their feelings, but it doesn't really make sense to me. Provided there's no ad hominem, bigotry, or just rudeness involved, why would it be upsetting that someone's beliefs are different, even wrong? They are ideas, not people, and I believe people should be the priority.

There's the part of me that wants to blame all this animosity between the liberal and conservative sides over the last decade or so on pundits like Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, but honestly it's been going on a long time. If you look at the history books, politics has always produced bitter feuds. In the early days of the USA, the famous duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr is a good example.

Something in human nature just creates a lot of fear, anger, and hate over opposing beliefs. My best guess is that many people consider their beliefs vital to their person, and having those challenged, even by someone who simply says they disagree, threatens their worldview, prompting an angry response, rather than thoughtful debate.

Perhaps there's a remnant of tribalism behind the animosity as well. By disputing their tribe's view of the world, I'm marking myself as a member of a rival tribe, and therefore to be hated. In that case, the ideas aren't even that important. They are only identifiers. What really matters is that I have been identified as one of "them." It would explain why, in multiple cases, statements I've made that were inconsistent with views stereotypical of the opposing tribe I was accused of belonging to were either ignored or discounted (sometimes I was accused of outright lying). From a tribal view, there are few gray areas when it comes to affiliation, people are considered either one of "us," or one of "them."

In this particular situation, it's not that big of a deal. It is a little unfortunate that I have gotten this kind of thing from both ends of the political spectrum, but I'll walk away from this with a little head-scratching and a shrug, as I've done in the past.

What is Your World View? Quiz

It's an interesting quiz. Lots to think about as you answer the questions. The author does use some jargon at a few points, but it's not bad overall.

My results:

You scored as Cultural Creative, Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. Cultural Creative 88% Romanticist 50% Postmodernist 50% Existentialist 38% Fundamentalist 31% Idealist 31% Modernist 19% Materialist 19% What is Your World View? created with QuizFarm.com

Unleashed - Movie Thoughts

I just recently saw the movie Unleashed, starring Jet Li.

It's an interesting premis: a man is raised to be basically think and act like an attack dog. If the collar is on, he's timid and almost fearful, but when that collar is removed, and he's given a direction, he's a brutal fighter. He was conditioned from a very young age to believe that this is his place in the world.

The next part is: what does it take to make the "dog" into a man? I think the answer this movie gives is a (much) less racy version of the method used in the Epic of Gilgamesh to make Enkindu the Wild Man civilized.

For those unfamiliar with Gilgamesh, it's good reading for anyone who thinks that ancient stories are tame and boring. To summarize this little section of the epic: Enkindu is causing problems, and Gilgamesh is asked to help, so Gilgamesh's solution is to tame Enkindu by hiring a prostitute for him. Enkindu falls in love, and decides to go back to civilization.

Without getting too much into the story, I think that Unleashed is doing something similar, but the love is a bit more of an innocent form.

So, it brings an interesting question: Is love what makes us human? I'll have to think about that some more.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0342258/

Why History is Important

I recently heard a girl in High School complain that she doesn't like history because it's "in the past." I've heard people say that before, and I think there is something important that she, and others like her, are missing.

The things in the history books aren't just about books. If you understand history, you have a big step towards understanding today. History isn't just about the past; it's about the present as well as the future.

The girl was talking about a report she had to do on Hitler. If you want to see how Hitler impacts our lives today, take a look at the Middle East. The horror of what Hitler did to the Jews gave them the the political pull with the United Nations to establish the nation of Israel, which angered the Islamic nations of the Middle East. The United States has played a major role in establishing and preserving Israel, helping to foster the deep hatred of the U.S. found in the region today. It's difficult to say for sure, but it is likely that if Hitler had never come to power, the Middle East would be a much less chaotic place today, and probably would not be nearly as angry with the U.S.

Just a reminder: "those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Elephants and parallels to our society

I was telling my pastor about this story I had seen on the news years ago. It has some very interesting implications.

There are some wildlife preserves in Africa which have been repopulated with wildlife from another preserve. Years later, they began finding several rhinoceros dead, with fairly massive injuries. After some investigation, it was discovered that bull elephants were doing it. However, the experts were confused, because this is not normal behavior.

After trying a few different things, they came to the realization that all of these elephants were essentially "teenagers." There were no older males on these particular preserves. These young males were essentially trying to fill the role of an adult male before they were ready, and they became confused and more violent than normal.

As a result, the solution became apparent: Older bulls were brought in from established preserves, and once that was completed, the killing ended.

Now that you've read my version, here's the story as seen in the news.

I think many of the implications for us and our society are obvious. We have problems with young men becoming violent without any apparent reason. I look around my neighborhood and see a lot of kids without fathers, and very few with adult friends. We may not be elephants, but I believe God intentionally created a commonality in many of His designs, and humans and elephants are both mammals.

My men's group was discussing Ephesians chapter 6, but we stopped at verse 4. Our current meeting time prevents many of us from helping with youth and children's ministries at the same time. We are going to have to decide if we want to adjust our meeting time in order to do our part to help raise kids. We will take two weeks before we make a final decision, so we are going to spend some time praying and thinking about it in the mean-time. We want to do this, but we also want the men's group to be there for men who come needing support from other men.