Glass Half Empty

By TLS

From time to time, in conversation with others I’ll notice a theme or perhaps perspective in another person. This will often leave me scratching my head or even pinching the bridge of my nose while gently shaking my head. We’ll be talking about the same subject but whereas my perspective may be neutral or academic, the other will be negative or almost spiteful. I’ve noticed this many times from different people and in different situations. I’m not sure why though.

This was something I identified I think out of frustration. I would be in random conversations with others, a subject would present itself that I would like to pursue or possibly even debate out of interest in learning. But often I would find a heated, negative response, even if the subject had no real-world impact on the other person. I could quickly tell any deep exploration of the subject would not be happening.

I was confused by this common reaction I would often encounter, and a bit discouraged to keep attempting these conversations. After considerable reflection, I’m starting to think this may be a glass-half-empty outlook sort of thing. Viewing everything from a negative or feelings of loss of control type perspective.

Another situation I come across is the apples and oranges problem. This one is even more difficult to address I think. It’ll go something like this ‘I read an article from this subject matter expert which suggested progress in this new research direction.’ The response in return would then be something like ‘fifty years ago that country was over overthrown by a dictator who executed and jailed many of the population and set up a corrupt government.’

Uuuuhhhh…what?

After some impressive mental acrobatics, I’ll realize the subject matter expert I mentioned probably drove through that politically unstable area at some point in his life. This in turn has rendered all that research suspect and therefore unreliable.

Again, uuuhhh…what?

I think I get it, at least some of it I suppose. Most people do not like hearing, and certainly do not like discussing things they may disagree with, even if that disagreement is on a near subconscious level. I also think this is something we collectively need to work on.

This country is on the verge of tearing itself apart due to blind ignorance and a lack of willingness to talk about differences. If we as a nation don’t get our collective act together, we may not be looking at a glass-half-empty situation anymore. Instead we may find ourselves in a no-glass situation, meaning our nation has collapsed. I wish the far right crazies and far left lunatics would stop viewing each other as mortal enemies. I wish they would work together with their different views and common ground in mind. We are American. We are a land of differences which used to be celebrated.

Today it seems more would rather everything burn to the ground than speak to someone with a different opinion. Each day this eventuality seems more likely to come to pass. I hope we can get through this, I hope we can become an insightful patriotic American nation again. But we’ll see, blind ignorance is a powerful and attractive force.

If you’re tired of conversations that shut down instead of open up, you’re not alone. Share your experiences, challenge negativity, and help rebuild a culture where disagreement doesn’t mean destruction. Subscribe if you want more essays that push us to think harder, talk better, and keep our glass at least half full.