“Never forget what a man says to you when he is angry. If he has charged you with anything, you had better look it up. Anger is a bow that will shoot sometimes where another feeling will not.” –Henry Ward Beecher from “Life Thoughts,”
Good for old Henry that he lived in a time and place where anger was but one of the accouterments to be rolled out when discourse took a turn; after which it was returned to its unwieldy sheath. Because if he resided in this age of incivility, where debate has been transformed into a verbal judo, his thoughts on anger would not make it beyond his morning shave.
Anger is no longer a retreat, it is an advancement. Anger has lost its impermanence to the idea of winning, no matter the cost. Our language has been retrofitted, as if armored regiments intent on vanquishing the opponent.
Spirited debate has gone the way of inkwells and handshakes.
Amen Pilgrim.
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Thanks Boss.
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B,
Bloody hell you have a flair with the written word…
Q
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Q,
And you have a flair for charming my cranky self into a fine blush . . .
B
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I can only respond to what you put out there… Which is mighty fine, I needs must say.
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Well thank you, Miss Fit Bit Champion. You stepped it up with your comment, and with your legwork.
Both. 🙂
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Haha!! Well now… I don’t suppose this will be a given each time we challenge each other. I remember being solidly whupped in the past!
And how about we done good?
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Every challenge tells a different story, doesn’t it? 😉
You got a deal. We done good. Very.
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This is a truth universally acknowledged. 😉
I got a deal… hmmm.
But yeah, we done, done good!
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Does the universe have a patent on this? 😉
Yes, a deal hums.
Doubly juicy fruit!
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Sad about the inkwells but not about the handshake (I hate that). This started decades ago with the advent of technology most are now addicted to. Less personal communication, more impersonal. If you’re not a person, then discourse goes south, quickly.
I’m waiting for the flip back a la vinyl records…. of course, it’ll probably just end up being a few freaks who value actual discussion… …. …. *raises hand* here!
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T Siz,
You got that right. People treat the online world the same way they drive. They behave as if they’re in a bubble . . and nothing can touch them. They do things they would never do in a face to face situation. Sad.
Discussion will be valued again. Some day. After the zombie apocalypse . . .
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Indeed so. Anonymity in the digital world is much to blame. *Sigh*
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Monika,
I was just pondering on that. Yes . . the ‘bubble’ of anonymity allows people to say things they would not otherwise say.
Big sigh.
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The academy in a nutshell. I have the ulcers to prove it.
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Billy,
You need a stiff Martini. Served up by a friendly cabana boy. I’ll leave it at that. 🙂
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And very well written, sorry, I was eating a lovely barbecue before.
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Oh shit Billy! You HAD to go and harsh the mellow of my cheeky, clever sexy reply to you with some BBQ? Really?
You peeps from the heartland play for keeps!
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Beecher may have lived in an age of civil discourse, but also of Senators beating one another with canes. We’re no more or less civil than they were then. But, as you express, they had finer points on their nibs.
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Eilene,
Of course, and well noted. I mean . . there was Burr and Hamilton ‘shooting the shit’ to the death, after all.
But it seems that we did have a period of time when people disagreed and debated and figured out the rest over breakfast. And in present day, things just feel nastier.
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Maybe because it has all become so public with the rise of modern social media?
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It seems the common theme.
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Spirited debates have been replaced by a mere collection of soundbytes of opinions.
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So dern true, Cincy. It’s as if USA Today sneezed on everything else and turned it sample size.
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My pleasure kind sir.
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Gracias Cincy. 🙂
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PS: Dolphins to the Super Bowl … Bengals get the Toilet Bowl.
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Hahaha!
The Dolphins are one (two) more good drafts from the postseason. Unless Rosen proves everybody wrong and lights it up. This boy ain’t dreaming that big. Not quite yet . . .
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Bengals could be the new Browns.
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Hey, they have a head start now that Hue is on board . . .
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Gosh, unfortunately, I agree with you here!
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Sad but true, OG . . .
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