Since Trump administration launched, I have seen so
many people have unfriended their
friends on the social media, just because they are upset by their friends’
political dispositions or probably because they might have paralogized their friends’ characters based on differences of ideas
they have.
Sadly, today we are living in a world where people with
different thoughts or opinions of others are something to be impugned without giving them a second
chance to provide cogent
explanations. If you have somewhat new or creative approach to something in
this square world, you are apt to be viewed as some kind of carcinogen that should be stonewalled
by majority of others who share their own same colors. It is such a painfully “black
or white” type of demarcation. If they look, think, or behave differently from
the way we do, they become something negative. This is a stark-naked reality
especially in the field of politics. Right or left. In or out of one’s cohort. One or the other. Us vs them. VERY
DANGEROUS.
In a sense, having a consistent and apparent opinion is
an important quality we need in life, and it is way better than to be a whiffler depending on circumstances. Among the hardliners, someone who has a
neutral color is often accused of being insipid and wishy-washy, hiding in the umbra of the black or white views. They
seem to assert that only the calliopean voice
in life matters and is worthy to be heard. However, being somewhere in between
one or the other can also make one good aspect of opinions, which has no reason
to be criticized or denigrated due to their lackluster color in a procrustean
bed.
Witnessing a lot of verbal attacks and overblown insults on one another in
political debates, which would lead them to the point of “unfriending” on
social media, I ask myself ‘am I still gonna be his or her friend tomorrow if I
show my true colors on this matter?’ Tiptoeing around people’s thoughts is not
my cup of tea though. I’d rather say what I mean and be happy to stay as a good
friend to those who would still be ready to embrace my thoughts that could be
different from theirs or at least just let me be that way. How about you out
there? Are you still my friends?
Expressions
to
paralogize…: (verb) to draw conclusions that do not follow
logically from a given set of assumptions
to
impugn…: (verb) to challenge, vilify, slander, or assail
others’ statements/ motives as false; cast doubt upon others’ ideas
cogent:
(adjective) convincing, forcible
carcinogen:
(noun) a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue
to
stonewall…: (verb) To doggedly block someone's progress.
Originally derived from the nickname a Confederate general
"Stonewall" Jackson obtained at the battle of Bull Run. The troops
said his men were holding back the Union army like a stone wall. So “to
stonewall” means to delay and generally block someone.
cohort:
(noun) a group of people (sharing the same interest or goal)
whiffler:
(noun) a person who frequently changes opinions or course; a person who uses shifts and evasions in
argument.
umbra:
(noun) shadow/ darkness
calliopean:
(adjective) piercingly loud
lackluster:
(adjective) lacking in energy or vitality
procrustean
bed:
(noun) a plan or scheme to produce uniformity or conformity by arbitrary or
violent methods.
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