I don’t feel qualified to write one of these ?“goodbye columns.”
I need to be older, wiser. I should probably be able to grow a beard, at least.
I don’t suppose they’re particularly riveting to read, either.
Blowhard senior tells you what she’s learned. Eyes roll. Someone passes out from boredom. Someone else chokes on the gall.
Something you learn quickly as a columnist for a college newspaper is you think you are more important than you ?actually are.
Something else you learn is if no one disagrees with you, you’re not doing your job right.
Nobody wants to read a column about how delicious cookies are. For the most part, we’ve reached a societal consensus on cookies. They’re pretty great. No further ?comment needed.
We need to be engaged in the issues that make us want to pull our hair out, or hide in bed for days, or scream expletives endlessly into forever or laugh because, seriously, we need a break.
That’s what’s worth writing about because maybe the writing will lead to answers, and the answers will lead to something better.
This is the part where I extrapolate my experience at this job to your ?experience at life.
We’re not as good at divisive as we should be. We like divisive. We watch divisive. We love it when people are yelling divisively. But we’re not good at it.
If you flip to the wrong news channel at the wrong time, you will be treated to people yelling over each other incoherently.
Increasingly, the wrong channel is every channel, and the wrong time is all the time.
On the rare occasion that we do get to see two people who fundamentally disagree have a constructive conversation, we learn something. I’m thinking Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart’s discussions or any time super-couple James Carville and Mary Matalin are interviewed together.
These segments aren’t as exciting to watch as “Real Housewives” flipping tables at each other, but they give us a chance to learn something.
We might learn that most issues have more than just two, clearly defined and directly opposed sides. Also, you’re allowed to disagree with someone without cursing their entire family.
So my challenge to all of us: Dare to talk about the divisive stuff. Disagree. Do it respectfully. Actually listen to the people disagreeing with you.
Make friends with someone who fundamentally disagrees with you on some point. Stay friends with them.
But still take time to talk about cookies every once in a while. They really are delicious.
If we’re not engaged, who’s going to make sure our leaders are? If we don’t try, what is their incentive?
Good luck.
Now, I’m off to Washington, D.C. to learn how to put people on television so they can yell over each other.
casefarr@indiana.edu
