Unfortunately, in today’s world, an argument
does not simply occur and disappear into thin air. Arguing on social media is
not a “dance”. Many times, these arguments become a war of two sides. Instead
of attempting to reason with your “opponent”, more often than not these
arguments turn into heated debates that result in both parties feeling angry
without accomplishing anything at all.
We live in an age of absolutes.
Neither side wants to admit their flaws or
wrongdoings, but, instead, insist that their opinions are the law. In “Finding
The Good Argument OR Why Bother With Logic”, Jones recalls the 2008 election
and the absolutes that people used in every day arguments. She says, “The
opponents on either side (democrat/republican) dug in their heels and defended
every position, even if it was unpopular or irrelevant to the conversation at
hand.” (p. 158) This statement is still extremely relevant in today’s world.
Regardless of the situation, people will defend their “views”, whether they are
their own or simply what their political party supports. Argument is not a
dance. It is not a pleasurable experience where we end the day with a handshake
and a pat on the back. “Argument is war” according to Lakoff and Johnson, and
they could not be anymore correct.
While arguing on Twitter does not actually insight a war
(unless, of course, our president decides to declare war via tweet), it does
start heating battles of words that leave one, or both, member(s) of the
parties hurt and discouraged. Some people will take this war on words to the
extreme. Few, if any, will ever truly gain something meaningful from the
confrontation.
Sadly, I do not have an answer on how to fix this problem.
Sure, we could censor harmful encounters in efforts to protect people, but that
simply goes against everything the American people value so much: freedom of
speech and expression. In a perfect world, two people could have an encounter
where they both learn something meaningful or insightful during the argument.
But, then again, in a perfect world we would not have to worry about these differences
we share. There is no definite answer.
How could there be?
Not one person can change the current state in which we are
living. All we can do is attempt to be moderate. Obviously this is extremely cliché,
but we, collectively, need to think before we act. Yes, you should still voice
your opinion, for it’s as important as the opinion of someone who is the
complete opposite of you. As a nation, we need to come together and better
understand, not only each other, but ourselves. Think for yourself instead of thinking
like someone else. Your thoughts are just as important as the next person. Your
thoughts are worth arguing as long as you recognize your opponent’s thoughts
are also worth arguing.
Besides, wouldn’t you rather be part of a dance instead of a
war?
I also chose to talk about the nature of the many arguments within our very passionate millennial generation, and I too wrote about how we should know what we want and what we stand for before we can decide who we stand with. It is true, Twitter, Facebook, Insta, they have become battlegrounds for most of the arguments we see today. They're a huge arena filled with gladiators off all shapes and sizes, but I actually believe there is a way to change things. I believe we should invest more time and effort into the issues at hand. Educate ourselves so that, just like you said, we respect the fact that our "opponent's" ideas are also important. Sure it'll be hard turning the arena into a productive workshop, but I believe it to be possible we just need to come to a social agreement not to speak if we don't have anything productive to say.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about the same topic as you where we as a people are unable to compromise with anyones opinion who is different then ours, however i didn't think about the social media aspect of it, and i really liked how you included that showing how social media really only gives you two options to approve or disapprove of a post, to like it or not.
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out the connection between these extreme argument-is-war confrontations and social media, and I think you may be on to something. There's been quite a bit of research about how social media and the internet increase polarization of ideas.
ReplyDeleteAnd like you, I'm not sure what the solution is.