Us versus them
Perhaps it is just my age but I am more aware of division and argy bargy these days. Of course, as far back as Cain and Abel there has always been a polite difference of opinion and that did not end at all well.
But my hope would have been that in my little lifetime, I would have seen signs of healing reconciliation. Phrases like ‘How can we make this work?’ Maybe just let the other prattle on until they have completely said everything they need to say.
I’m not asking for perfect harmony. The issue is not whether we disagree but how we disagree. How we put our point of view forward with respect and even with a smile.
Is it the way our media fuels outrage? Look out for the tagline that sends your blood pressure up. ‘Political leader X claims that’… ‘It is alleged that…’. Or the questions ‘who knew what and when and why? ‘Tell me Mrs Bloggs how you feel towards the hospital staff where your best friend died?’ I mean really … How do you think Mrs. Blogs is feeling? What a supercilious question. And is Mrs Blogg's intimate, personal sadness the sort of thing that should be splashed around for the consumption by a stranger?
What might happen in question time at our parliament if the adversaries simply ditched the divisive format, sat in a circle, had some chocolate biscuits and a nice cup of tea and enjoyed each others company. First item on the agenda ‘How to best serve the people who elected them’.
Or what if the debate at the pub finished when as gentlemen, they agreed to disagree and bought another round, thinking about how lucky they are to have a drinking buddy.
It doesn’t have to be me versus you, us versus them… does it?