I’m in my late 50’s and remember a time not long ago when entire evenings were spent around a dinner table or camp fire with friends of varying opinions and beliefs. We listened, bantered, teased, agreed on some things, refused on others... but it was done in the spirit of learning and friendship. It was the art of discussion. I miss those days. How many of those friends have “unfriended” us? I listened and tried to understand and not to judge until I realized that the same mercies were no longer being reciprocated. How do we get back to where we came from?
Agreed...listening is a lost art. Like you I was a college professor for 30 years where there were ways of evaluating whether students are listening: exams. As a Pastor I am aware of so many folks having no particular interest in listening to my sermons and we don’t offer “counter-points” to them for obvious reasons. I often wish there was a way to induce folks to listen to “the Word of the Lord”.
"This is a mass delusion. There is simply no evidence for these things. These are propositions that are untethered to reality."
Thanks for your forthright opinion about woke identity politics. I think your tips will be useful in talking to people who are brainwashed by the mass delusion all around us. The situation is similar to the fable of the Emperor's New Clothes. It takes only one or a few honest individuals speaking out to break the spell. I provide a running analysis of the situation in my Substack at 2026.substack.com.
Thank you for saying it, over and over and over again.
"We have a lot more in common than we realize."
Thanks Peter! Keep up the good work!
I’m in my late 50’s and remember a time not long ago when entire evenings were spent around a dinner table or camp fire with friends of varying opinions and beliefs. We listened, bantered, teased, agreed on some things, refused on others... but it was done in the spirit of learning and friendship. It was the art of discussion. I miss those days. How many of those friends have “unfriended” us? I listened and tried to understand and not to judge until I realized that the same mercies were no longer being reciprocated. How do we get back to where we came from?
Thank you, Peter, for pointing the way.
Agreed...listening is a lost art. Like you I was a college professor for 30 years where there were ways of evaluating whether students are listening: exams. As a Pastor I am aware of so many folks having no particular interest in listening to my sermons and we don’t offer “counter-points” to them for obvious reasons. I often wish there was a way to induce folks to listen to “the Word of the Lord”.
"This is a mass delusion. There is simply no evidence for these things. These are propositions that are untethered to reality."
Thanks for your forthright opinion about woke identity politics. I think your tips will be useful in talking to people who are brainwashed by the mass delusion all around us. The situation is similar to the fable of the Emperor's New Clothes. It takes only one or a few honest individuals speaking out to break the spell. I provide a running analysis of the situation in my Substack at 2026.substack.com.
Thanks for this
Great content as always, but woke people showing respect despite disagreement is definitely not my experience. I wrote a little rant about this.
https://antonsachzwang.substack.com/p/coming-soon