Scene 1 –
“I don’t like Mr. X.”
“How can you say so? Do you even know anything about him?”
“Well, for starters, he is not a great personality to know much about.”
“Well, it’s really naïve of you. You should get your facts right.”
“Like you know anything at all.”
“Sure, I do”
“Whatever”
“Whatever”
Scene 2 –
“I don’t like Mr. X.”
“Ok, what makes you say so?”
“I am not sure, but I have not heard good stories about him.”
“Alright. However, I had an opportunity to interact with him personally and it was a great experience. Do you want to know more about it?”
“Why not, sure”
And the conversation continues…
‘No conversations’ are the ‘worst conversations’, but ‘One-sided conversations’ are ‘equally lethal’.
We are so driven and motivated to be right, that the other person or logic being wrong seems to be the only logical and the easiest way for it to be. So, most of our conversations where the opinions are divided in groups, end with violence – physiological or psychological.
The impulsive desire to prove ourselves right and to prove the other person wrong always gets the better of us and our intentions. No matter how appropriate one’s logic or reasoning is, the way it is projected sets the tone of the outcome in the very beginning itself.
We get too sensitive about the topic that anything gets in the way, be it a person or a situation, is an enemy.
Love doesn’t blind us, it’s the obsession to get love that does.
If we wish for a better world, we need to find mechanisms for ‘better conversations’. Be it about religion, politics, passion, books, relationships or life, don’t challenge the person you are conversing with, challenge ideas, challenge the thought process. The only way to do that is find peace with other’s point of views.
A liberal society is not the one where everyone has same set of beliefs and preferences, but the ones where everyone is comfortable sharing their beliefs and listening to others’.
Our reaction to situations, to conversations and dialogues, has the power to start or end wars; words, tone and volume can change the whole dynamics. These are the variables we hold any control on. Let’s try and begin with that.
Leave a Reply