➕Are you good for the conversation?
➕Are you willing to stay in a conversation when there’s disagreement?
➕Can you handle the heat?
➕Can you listen without attacking?
➕Can you give them a chance to speak without lashing out?
➕Can you hear an argument that appalls you without name calling?
➕Can you actually stand up for what you’re spouting off about, by sharing sound reasoning, or are you just triggered that someone dared to disagree with you?
? Social media sure knows how to bring out the worst in people, WOW!
? But, I believe it can actually give us an opportunity to truly see what we stand for, and be able to have civil discourse with others (learning what they think, and why, and vice versa).
❓ Are you willing you hear the person behind their outrage?
❓ Are you willing to hear why they’re so passionate about the side they’re taking?
❓ Are you willing to hear horrific tales about what they’ve walked through that led them to this point?
Do you actually care about the HUMAN you’re engaging with, or do you only care about trying to drive your point home?
? Are you actually wanting to help other people see a different perspective, and potentially win them over to what you stand for? Or are you only in it to deprecate others and sling mud in the hopes that somehow that will convince people to agree with you?
Whatever “side” you’re on, of whatever topic (take your pick, there are *plenty* of touchy ones to get into), remember that how you respond to others is all about YOU and YOUR maturity, not them.
? There are extremists in every subgroup of people, and they’re not the majority. When you’re yelling and hootin’ and hollerin’ about this group or that group, remember that you’re only adding to the problem.
I challenge you to take time to actually LISTEN to someone share their WHY behind their cry.
✨ Honestly, if we could all just be willing to have CIVIL discourse, real conversations, with people we may not agree with, there could be such a shift.
Every story is different.
Every person has unique experiences.
? Instead of pointing out why someone is wrong, why don’t you try getting curious about why they believe they’re right?
Also worth noting, there will always be people who just blindly follow mob mentality ? and they may not be willing to have (or capable of having) civil discourse with you. Try with someone else. No need to frustrate yourself with having a discussion with someone who only wants to argue to no end ?
? We don’t need more mad mobs.
✅ We need more critical thinking.
✅ We need more people who are willing to listen.
✅ We need awareness to address the ROOT cause, and not the symptoms.
Don’t be a mad mobber.
Be a sound leader.
Be willing to ask and listen.
And for goodness sakes, be willing and able to stand up for what you’re saying you believe in with actual logic (and not just spouting off others’ opinions that you saw in some newspaper article on some media outlet)!
If you find yourself triggered when someone approaches you with something you don’t agree with, I have to wonder if it’s perhaps because you don’t feel like you actually have a deep reason to believe what you believe? Perhaps it’s just what you’ve been taught to believe over time.
Critical thinking isn’t just for having conversations with others.
? It’s a handy little tool for learning yourself in a new way, too!
I’ll leave you with two favorite quotes:
>> “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.“
>> “Truth does not mind being questioned, but a lie does not like being challenged.“
? by: Stephanie Driscoll McHenry
??by: Danece Van Soelen
