Ah, "That One". :-)

Gee do i wish today was January 21, 2009. I dread the next two months...

But you do raise an interesting issue - the most fun i have had on LSs has tended to be with people i have disagreed with most profoundly. On the surface some of these exchanges probably looked extremely hostile - but we often had offlist exchanges where we acknowledged our profound regard for each other and the challenges we provided for each other. So, much like preparing an article for publication, maintaining agreeableness may be too high a standard for many of us.

While I do appreciate Obama's equanimity - i am nowhere near that level, don't even want to delude myself to aspire to it. He is a one in a billion occurrence. If I had been him i would have been criticizing my opponents unmercifully - and let's face it, it would have been easy. But I would have lost the election in the process as I am sure he would have had he done that directly.

But, then that is why I understood immediately the foolhardiness of Palin's misunderstanding of what a "community organizer" does. The minute she uttered her line about his background in CO, I was thinking - "Sarah, you have not done your homework - think Saul Alinsky and chicago style community organizing..." :-) Chicago organizers would make mincemeat - as they did - of someone so painfully unaware and unprepared for battle...

Still, the point is well taken. How does one sharpen one's thinking, respond in real time, cut to the chase, and not decapitate someone with whom you merely have a disagreement in words?

bear


--- On Tue, 11/11/08, June Kikuchi <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: June Kikuchi <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: And now for something completely different...
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 2:05 PM

Bear,
 
You said what I've been thinking. I've often wondered why we barely make use of listserves' great potential. I've been told that lack of time is the obstacle. You've implied that it has to do with lack of safety. 
 
In this listserve. I wonder if it would help if we all decided to take Obama's words to heart: "disagree without being disagreeable" -- easier said than done but possible. However, it seems to me that possibility depends, in great part, on our coming to understand why people so quickly become disagreeable in argumentation. Any thoughts?
 
June