Earlier today, as I was pilfering through my brother’s Chinese food, I found two fortune cookies. Now, etiquette states that each person is allowed one cookie, therefore allowing them one fortune. However, I am not gonna do that crazy stuff if there are two perfectly good crunchy cookies that no one else is gonna eat. I’m gonna eat them both. This selfish act gave me the opportunity to indulge myself with two separate fortunes that I could then decide between to call my own. The one I chose was this: “The purpose of argument, should not be victory, but progress.” It’s a pretty good one if I do say so myself. It also got me thinking about my life and what I’m seeing in the world, which one doesn’t usually expect from a fortune cookie.
So you know how the world is in an uproar because of Donald Drumpf and his seeming inability to just shut up? Yeah, this made me think of him. To be fair to Mr. Drumpf, this is also something I have struggled with for a majority of my life, as arguing in my family was always a war. It was something to be won; there was a clear victor and loser. It seems to be the same with good ol’ Donald. He is fighting a war against the world, one he might not win, and it’s taking a toll on public opinion of him.
Listen, I don’t care what political party you are, but this is important. When you argue to argue and stop trying to solve problems, that’s when bigger problems emerge. Communication stops and all that happens is words being flung at a person to hurt them, to make them surrender, and you are left in tangled mess. An argument should be two sides calmly presenting facts and opinions with each other with the hopes of growing together. Sounds a bit cliché, but its true.
Part of the problem I have with how America deals with political issues is that we literally just yell over each other and when we don’t get our way we shut down the government. Real problems take a backseat to old grudges that just get rehashed and restated over and over again. Words keep flying back and forth, both sides fighting a war of attrition. Our current candidates aren’t helping the situation at all, either. Drumpf and Hillary are just attacking each other, trying to deal the final, killing blow, and failing. I want someone who will really talk to the other side and figure out a common ground, a solution that both sides will agree on. That’s probably not going to happen, but a girl can hope.
In essence, what I’m trying to say is that we need to just talk more. I mean late night sleepover kind of talking, you know the kind. Where you get super deep and just spill your guts, and just connect to the other person. Argue in a way that solves problems and doesn’t create them. Listen to the freaking fortune cookie, people.
