It seems that all debates around highly
polarized topics will eventually degenerate into basic name calling,
mud slinging and, at times, even threats of physical violence. I am
aware that this is a broad generalization, but this has been my
experience when debating politics, morality, and religion. The most
reasonable debates were those fueled by copious amounts of good beer
– which makes me wonder if the beer sufficiently stymied any
desires to engage in physical violence. Don't get me wrong, all these
conversations had all the other elements – inventive name calling,
mud slinging, and endless red herrings but somehow never degenerated
into actual violence. The old gang was proficient in the art of
stirring around, chewing over, and spitting out the same amount of
bullshit over several hours of imbibing – the bull sessions always
being cut short by a last call or a change of venue. Whatever the
outcome – somehow these conversations never degenerated into actual
violence. Don't get me wrong there were always veiled threats of
grievous bodily harm tossed about – but they were mere rhetorical
flourishes.
I believe that if one of our great
debates had ever devolved into a violent confrontation – it would
have been recorded as the greatest bar fight ever. The stuff of
legends – cranky intellectuals removing glasses and jackets,
rolling up sleeves, and promptly sitting down to hash out the rules
of conduct. A few beers later and we would have forgotten what might
have prompted the initial argument. Of course, the moment we looked
back through the drunken fog of our severely and collectively
impaired recall would lead us down another path to an argument that
dead-ended at the point we wondered what we was arguing about; in
other words, it was just pointless argumentation for the sake of
argumentation. The alcohol fueled the debate which then enhanced the
journey towards severe intoxication. Most of the debate after the
sixth beer is really obfuscated by dead brain cells and time. There
are so many missing parts in those memories – there are times I
will run into a buddy from those days and they mention some aspect of
a particular debate or evening and I am too flabbergasted to even
conceive having participated in that conversation. I blame it on the
alcohol.
Hindsight really has perfect vision and
allows us to wear rose colored glasses when we reminisce on certain
aspects of our misspent youth. However, I am still unable to recall
instances when I have felt the violent intent behind someone's
vitriol. There seems to be an added element of bravado within the
social media realm. I read a seemingly innocuous comment – granted
it was political in nature – deteriorate into threats of violence
and bodily harm. The defining comment of that thread was a claim by
some offended idjit that he was better in politics than the rest of
the commentators as he had 'a masters.' As if that educational
qualification translated to intelligence. At the end of the day, a
Master's degree has nothing to do with intelligence, but has all to
do with sitzfleisch. Sitzfleisch is that in-built tenacity to endure
and sit through endless, boring lectures, while developing a
specialized terminology. There is a saying that advises never to
allow your education to interfere with your schooling. Your college
education will turn you into a piece of shit that treats people based
on titles rather than substance.
Anyway, I write all this because of
that silly Facebook comment and because I was reminded of those
debates while admiring the views from Pikes Peak. I was there to
scatter the remains of a good friend from those days. Jerry kicked
the bucket after he and his truck lost an argument with a tree in the
back roads of his hometown. He survived long enough to get a message to me to follow through on how we had promised to dispose of
each other's remains when we eventually shuffled off this mortal
coil. His wish was to be turned into bird feed and be scattered to
the four winds off Pikes' Peak. My mission was to ensure his family
neither pumped him full of chemicals nor planted him in any ground. I
assure you that is a conversation you do not want to have with a
grieving, yet deeply religious family – especially, when you have
to explain that their late son was not only irreligious, but was a
confirmed, bleeding heart, godless liberal. Fun times!
Here's a thought that Jerry would have
enjoyed: When
people are fanatically dedicated to political or religious faiths or
any other kind of dogmas or goals, it's always because these dogmas
or goals are in doubt. Robert M. Pirsig, author and philosopher (b.
1928)
Have fun always!!
