I’d like to buy an argument.

A man walks into a clinic to purchase the opportunity to quarrel. It’s an old Monty Python skit that takes a satirical look at weird services you can buy. Strangely enough, I wish that were an actual thing.

The holidays are challenging. Last month, many of us got together with people we love and are related to (not mutually exclusive), but don’t always see eye to eye with. Dinner conversations were fraught with land mines and taboo subjects, and we were happy when we get to dessert unscathed. A month earlier, midterm election painted partisan lines so boldly it’s hard to see the other side. When did we come to the conclusion that if someone doesn’t agree with us, they were evil, unworthy and immoral? NYU professor, Jonathan Haidt said, “Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into ideological teams that fight each other as though the fate of the world depended on our side winning each battle. It blinds us to the fact that each team is composed of good people who have something important to say.”

~Echo chambers in Sensurround~

I long for intellectual discourse. I desire the opportunity to delve deep into a subject and explore reasonings that differ from mine. Not to prove others wrong, as much as strengthen my ideas. Why is it so important to “win” and point out others are at fault? Does it feel good? Perhaps, but I find it a shallow victory, there’s little glory and the prize is that we created larger chasms. You end up standing on a mantle with people who are so much like you it’s an echo…