Saturday, November 3, 2018

Random Thoughts

Lately I see the world divided into two kinds of people. On the one hand there are those who spend idle moments enjoying the quiet by gazing at the world around them and taking-in what they see and hear. On the other, there are those folks who use idle time by fiddling with their cell phones, either reding or re-reading messages or sending out messages to any one they can think of. While sometimes I am part of the latter, on my better days I prefer being part of the former group. Life has enough hustle-bustle in it as it is. Why not embrace idle moments when they come along rather than muck them up with making unnecessary use of a cell phone. We do not need to be on it as much as we are.

Here's another thought. According to author Steven Pinker in his fine book, "The Better Angels of Our Nature" (2011), mankind is fighting far fewer wars than ever in our history. In fact, this has been a notable trend for well-over a half century. That, of course, is a good thing. While I accept Pinker's analysis as being true, I wonder if we as individuals are arguing any less as well? Are we experiencing fewer disagreements? My sense is we are not. While I have not seen any statistics on this - assuming any actually exist - I cannot help but speculate that individually seem to be at-issue at a high rate that does not seem to be experiencing any noticeable decline.

Finally, I would like to give a shout-out to the field of conflict analysis and resolution. It is a field of study that focuses on the act of dealing with and reaching a settlement on disputes. Such conflicts can be among individuals, communities or even nations. Conflict anaylsis and resolution revolves around the kind of elements that make for effective communication: mutual respect, research, active listening, willingness to compromise, and clear-cut messaging. It is encouraging that this academic area is growing in popularity.

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