Protecting Dominance

Call me "old school" or a "fuddy-duddy" or whatever else might seem appropriate as it applies to communication and dominance. I recognize that to some, when it comes to communicating with others, there are those who feel it is vital that they dominate or control the interaction. This way, they reason, they can both control what is being said as well heavily influence how the conversation will go. In other words, they can tip the scale toward getting what they want from others. These desired results can range from achieving agreement and being understood to triggering action by others and gaining acceptance. Any one of those possible outcomes is not necessarily a bad thing. What is "bad," however, is found more in the intent behind how one chooses to communicate. The act of dominating another for its own sake is, at the least, selfish and, at the most, manipulative and dishonest. At its best, the act of communicating is designed to foster mutual understanding and harmony. For hundreds of years now, men and women have added an array of layers to that act by identifying ways to communicate that goes beyond simply getting along. Communication, for many, is a way to sway or dictate the decisions and actions of others. At this point, we can no longer tell folks to stop communicating in a way that inflences others. That train, as they say, left the station years ago. But what we can strive for is encouraqing people to dominate through honest means. Do not lie. So long as honesty prevails, then dominance as it applies to communication is not wrong; nor does it need to be stopped. What we as a soceity need to keep doingi is enforcing regulations and sanctions that help ensure dishonest communication is kept to a minimum. At the same time, we must keep doing all we can to protect acts of dominance so long as they are carried out honestly.