Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Interesting times-Interesting conversation????

OK. Admittedly we're in trying times. That's a given. The economy is in a sink hole. The election is getting a little tedious. There's crazy people all over the globe who seem intent on making life hard for everybody. The Chicago Tribune decided to dumb down it's content.

But it's interesting.

Really interesting.

There's things to talk about. That's good. Everyone has an opinion about the economy, right? And the election. Even though it's drawn out it's still got some sizzle. I mean, Thursday night, the debate between the V.P. candidates could go in countless directions, most ripe for parody and satire. It's not dull.

If you live in Chicago, you gotta love it. Both the Sox and the beloved Cubs are in the playoffs. Doesn't get much better than that.

There's no end to the discussions possible. Will we have them?

I think we've lost the ability to have a good conversation. What I'm talking about is a conversation with great content, lively interchange, and attentive listening. We live in a sound byte age with sound byte interchanges. We're missing out on opportunities to learn from each other.

Sport conversation can be frivolous. That's OK. It's not end of the world type of stuff. Although I'm convinced a Cubs/Sox World Series will usher in the rapture.

Political conversation is vital. Faith conversations are really important. State of the economy conversations could possibly lead to solutions.

We've got to have these kind of conversations. The problem is that it's starting to be a lost art. We yell at each other too often. We discount another person's position. We aren't willing to be learners. We don't listen.

And so we have drive-by discussions and settle for that. Why?

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